LONDON (APP) - Of the 54 new members appointed to the British Parliament upper House of Lords, three are South Asians including two of Pakistani origin. They include businessman and former vice chairman of Conservative Party Tariq Ahmad, Qurban Hussein, deputy leader of the Liberal-Democrat group on Luton Borough Council and Sir Gulam Noon, a leading businessman with Indian roots. Other prominent person-alities chosen to be the peers include former Chief of the General Staff, British Army, General Sir Richard Dannat and Rachael Heyhoe Flint, past captain of England women cricket team. The new appointments have raised the number of House of Lords to 794. Labour Party has 244 but the new additions will see the coalition government benches swell to 316 or 39 per cent of the total representation. The new intake could also cost the British taxpayer up to 2.5m pounds a year, since each peer can claim up to 300 pounds for every day they attend, amounting to a maximum 43,500 pounds annually if the house sits for 145 days. Meanwhile, member, Kash-mir Council and central leader of AJK Peoples Muslim League, Hameed Pothi has congratulated the three newly elevated Asian members of the House of Lords. Pothi hoped that the new peers will use their influence to work for the benefit of the community and the country and lauded the British system, which rewa-rded those who worked diligently to make a difference to their country of origin. He also said that the progress the immigrant communities were making proved that the immigration has actually benefited the UK. Pothi also appealed to the new peers to work even harder to raise awareness about the issue of Kashmir and lobby for the solution of the dispute acco-rding to the wishes of the Kash-miri people. Lord Nazir Ahmed also welcomed the new appo-intments and expressed hope that their presence in the House will strengthen the voice of ethnic communities.