BNP Muslim alliance against Kashmiris

Sonia Gable | Thursday, 7 June 2007 Source: Searchlight

Brian Parker, the BNP's sole councillor in Pendle, risked the disapproval of the Muslim-hating BNP leadership when he joined forces with the Labour councillor Mohammad Iqbal to oppose planning permission for a Kashmiri group's headquarters in Pendle.

The Pendle Kashmiri Welfare Association campaigns for self-government in Kashmir, a troubled region of Pakistan with complex political problems.

Parker, who is noted for having gone on holiday after his election in 2006 rather than attend his first council meeting, said unsurprisingly: "I would like to know what Kashmir has to do with British people – it's a long way away and it has nothing to do with us."

Shamefully, Iqbal commented in similar sectarian vein: "It's very, very rare that I agree with Councillor Parker, but this is a divisive application."

It is bad enough when a councillor lets his views on the politics of the Indian subcontinent influence a planning decision concerning a local organisation. As Liberal Democrat Councillor Sonia Robinson said, the social issues surrounding the group are irrelevant to the planning process. It is wholly unacceptable when such views propel him into expressing agreement with the BNP.