(By Mercy Gilbert, Deputy Political Leader, Conservative Party UK)
President of the Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Forum France, the Paris-based leader has made championing the rights of the Kashmiri people his defining cause. His humanitarian work for Kashmir’s orphaned children grows out of that same commitment.
For Mirza Asif Jarral, Kashmir is not one cause among many. It is the cause. Across Europe he is known first and foremost as a voice for the people of Kashmir, and it is that advocacy which defines his public life.
As President of the Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Forum France, he has long raised the human rights of the Kashmiri people at conferences and before international institutions. From his base in Paris, he is widely recognised for championing their rights on international platforms and for making sure the concerns of Kashmiris are heard well beyond the region.
Advocacy First, Service Alongside
His humanitarian work flows from that advocacy rather than standing apart from it. Speaking for Kashmiris abroad and serving Kashmir’s children at home are, in his view, two expressions of the same commitment to dignity and justice. The advocacy comes first; the service gives it weight, and each lends credibility to the other.
Standing up for a people also means caring for its most vulnerable members.
Standing With Kashmir’s Orphans
On 22 May 2026, the Shahnawaz Venue in Paris hosted the first-ever fundraising event of the Kashmir Orphan Relief Trust (KORT) in the French capital. Among the Paris-based volunteers who organised it, alongside Imran Butt, Mr Mustaq and their team, was Mirza Asif Jarral.
KORT is a UK-registered charity whose work with orphaned children began in the wake of the devastating 2005 earthquake, which left many children in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) without parents. From the outset, its mission went beyond emergency relief to long-term care: a safe home, education, healthcare and guidance, so that orphaned children could grow into confident and capable adults. At the heart of that mission stands a purpose-built home and educational complex in Mirpur.
Mirza Asif Jarral supports this work as an extension of his commitment to Kashmir: standing up for a people, in his view, also means caring for those whose futures depend on others choosing to care.
Children First
Orphan welfare sits at the centre of his humanitarian work. Through his support for KORT, he helps give orphaned children what every child deserves: stability, care, nourishment and a genuine chance at a good future. For a child who has lost a parent, that support can mark the difference between despair and hope.
He is equally clear that compassion must be matched by opportunity. Education, he believes, is the most lasting gift a community can offer its children, and he has championed the schooling and facilities that allow orphaned children to learn and thrive. Classrooms, safe living spaces and learning resources lay the foundation for young people who may one day serve Kashmir as doctors, teachers, engineers and leaders.
Healing a Region: The KORT Hospital
Access to healthcare remains one of the most pressing challenges for families in AJK, particularly those who cannot afford treatment. KORT’s response is its most ambitious undertaking yet: the KORT Hospital, now under construction in Jatlaan, Azad Kashmir, which aims to provide free, quality healthcare.
Mirza Asif Jarral has been an active promoter of fundraising for the hospital and for KORT’s wider humanitarian projects. By encouraging donors to invest in this vision, he is helping to lay the groundwork for an institution that could serve generations.
Opening Europe’s Doors
On the humanitarian side, one of his most distinctive contributions has been helping extend KORT’s fundraising and awareness activities into France and other parts of Europe. Building on the charity’s established base in the United Kingdom, he has drawn on the community networks built through his advocacy to introduce KORT’s work to Kashmiri and Pakistani communities and well-wishers across the continent.
The Paris event in May 2026 showed the breadth of what that support makes possible. Guests learned about KORT’s programmes in orphan welfare, housing construction, water and sanitation, education, Ramadan food distributions and mosque refurbishment, as well as its overseas emergency relief, including assistance connected with Afghanistan and Gaza. The KORT Hospital in Jatlaan was also presented. For the community in France, the evening offered a direct way to take part, and it marked an important step in establishing KORT’s presence in Europe.
A Model for Diaspora Leadership
Mirza Asif Jarral’s example shows what diaspora leadership can look like: a clear, sustained voice for Kashmir on the international stage, backed by practical support for the people it represents. By speaking for Kashmiris abroad while standing with orphaned children, promoting free healthcare and helping carry KORT’s mission into Europe, he has shown that advocacy and service are two halves of one commitment.
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