Kashmir is a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan -- Sir Kier Starmer, new leader of the Labour Party, the main opposition party of Britain, said.

On April 30, in a joint statement released by Labour Friends of India and Sir Kier Starmer, the new leader of the Labour Party said,

"We must not allow issues of the sub-continent to divide communities here. Any constitutional issues in India are a matter for the Indian Parliament and Kashmir is a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan to resolve peacefully. Labour is an internationalist Party and stands for the defence of human rights everywhere."

"Britons of Indian-origin contribute so much to the UK and to the Labour Party. I'm committed to working closely with Labour Friends of India to rebuild trust with the community," he said.

This is a major step towards mending the relationship with the Indian diaspora in the UK and a friendly hand towards India.

The Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn on September 25 last year, in its party conference in Brighton, passed a resolution that supports "International intervention in Kashmir and a call for UN-led referendum.'

This had upset not only the Indian diaspora in the UK but also the Government of India. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had then expressed regret and had called it an "uninformed and unfounded position."

Starmer, in the joint statement also said, "A Labour government under my leadership will be determined to build even stronger business links with India and to co-operate on the global stage on issues such as climate change. I look forward to meeting the Indian High Commissioner in due course to open a renewed dialogue between the Labour Party and the people of India."

Welcoming the stance taken by Sir Starmer, Rajesh Agrawal, Co-Chair of Labour Friends of India and Deputy Mayor of London for business, said: "I congratulate Keir Starmer on his election as a leader. I really welcome his commitment to rebuilding strong links between the Labour Party and the Indian community. This has been a great start and Keir has achieved a lot in the short span of a couple of weeks.

Labour Friends of India will work closely with him and will continue to promote UK-India ties as well as continuing to raise any issues from the community to the leadership."

One of the senior lawyers in the UK, Sir Kier Starmer, before getting elected as an MP to the British Parliament in 2015, was head of Crown Prosecution Service.

Starmer was a "remainer" as far as Brexit goes and also supported the call for a second referendum.

Sir Kier Starmer was elected as the leader of the Labour Party in April 2020 amidst the coronavirus pandemic.