Government minister Gareth Thomas, parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for International Development, yesterday paid tribute to the efforts of British Kashmiris in Burnley who had raised money to rebuild houses in Kashmir following the earthquake just over a year ago.

“Burnley for Kashmir” is run by Mubashir Lone who runs a corner shop in the Top O’th Town area of Burnley. Together with other local British Kashmiris he raised £7,000 to build 10 permanent shelters in the mountainous region of Khoria Channa, Kashmir, and purchased a van emblazoned with the logo of “Burnley for Kashmir” which is still being used to aid the relief effort in and around Muzzaferabad.

Local Labour MP, Kitty Ussher, congratulated “Burnley for Kashmir” for their work in the House of Commons on Wednesday and received a positive reply from the minister. The transcript of the exchange is below:

Kitty Ussher: Will the Minister join me in congratulating British Kashmiris in my constituency who, following the earthquake, operated under the banner of “Burnley for Kashmir” and raised enough cash to build 10 permanent shelters around Khoria Channa and a van to help the relief effort in Muzaffarabad? What estimates has his Department made of the total value of private donations to help earthquake victims in Kashmir?

Mr. Thomas: I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s constituents for their fund-raising efforts to help the victims of the earthquake. I know that constituents in other areas, including some from my own constituency, have also put considerable effort into fund raising. I also pay tribute to those constituents’ continuing advocacy for the victims of the earthquake; doing more for them and not walking away. We need to recognise that the reconstruction effort will take a long time—not just the 12 months to date, but perhaps as long as three to five years. We are determined to stay the course and we are continuing to monitor plans for the winter period to ensure that people—those still living in tents as well as those in transitional shelters—have the support that they need.

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