AIRLINK 65.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.70 (-1.06%)
BOP 5.57 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-2.11%)
CNERGY 4.56 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.94%)
DFML 24.52 Increased By ▲ 1.67 (7.31%)
DGKC 69.96 Decreased By ▼ -0.74 (-1.05%)
FCCL 20.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.25%)
FFBL 29.11 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
FFL 9.83 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-1.01%)
GGL 10.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.69%)
HBL 114.25 Decreased By ▼ -1.00 (-0.87%)
HUBC 129.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-0.31%)
HUMNL 6.71 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.15%)
KEL 4.44 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (1.37%)
KOSM 4.89 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-2.59%)
MLCF 37.00 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.11%)
OGDC 132.30 Increased By ▲ 1.10 (0.84%)
PAEL 22.54 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.27%)
PIAA 25.89 Decreased By ▼ -0.41 (-1.56%)
PIBTL 6.60 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (1.07%)
PPL 112.85 Increased By ▲ 0.73 (0.65%)
PRL 29.41 Increased By ▲ 1.02 (3.59%)
PTC 15.24 Decreased By ▼ -0.87 (-5.4%)
SEARL 57.03 Decreased By ▼ -1.26 (-2.16%)
SNGP 66.45 Increased By ▲ 0.76 (1.16%)
SSGC 10.98 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.36%)
TELE 8.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.57%)
TPLP 11.70 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (1.47%)
TRG 68.62 Decreased By ▼ -0.62 (-0.9%)
UNITY 23.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.55 (-2.3%)
WTL 1.38 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (2.22%)
BR100 7,295 Decreased By -9.1 (-0.12%)
BR30 23,854 Decreased By -96 (-0.4%)
KSE100 70,290 Decreased By -43.2 (-0.06%)
KSE30 23,171 Increased By 50.4 (0.22%)

The National Assembly on Tuesday expressed solidarity with Kashmiri people on the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day to be observed today (Wednesday) and vowed unflinching and unwavering support to them in their just struggle for their right to self-determination.

The House, after a two-day discussion on the prevailing situations in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOK), passed a unanimous resolution, calling upon the UN Security Council to enforce a peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the Council.

The resolution was moved by chairman Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Syed Fakhar Imam in which, the House paid glowing tributes to the sacrifices rendered by the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination for the last over seven decades.

It reaffirmed Pakistan's consistent political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people until the realization of their legitimate right to self-determination as per UN Security Council resolutions, reaffirming that Jammu and Kashmir remains internationally recognized dispute that continues to be on the agenda of the UN Security Council since 1948.

Condemning the illegal and unilateral actions of Indian government of August 5, 2019 in occupied Kashmir and the subsequent detention of Kashmir youth, political leaders and communication and media blockade, which have brought immense sufferings to the people of Kashmir, the House also voiced grave concerns over the presence of 900,000 troops, turning the entire valley into a virtual open prison and making it one of the most militarized zone of the world. It also condemned the past and present Indian atrocities, including detention of over 13000 Kashmiri youth at undisclosed locations, the use of pellet guns by the Indian military against innocent civilians, and torture and humiliation of the ordinary civilians.

The House expressed concerns over illegal detention and long incarceration/house arrests of political leaders from different political parties, particularly Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders like Yasin Malik, Shabbir Shah, Asiya Andrabi, Syed Ali Gilani, Mir Waiz Umar Farooq, Dr Qasim Faktu, Masrat Alam and many more political prisoners.

The House also condemned the horrifying violence against women especially the use of rape as a weapon of war against them. It deplored the continuing restrictions on freedom of expression in the occupied valley describing it as gross violations of fundamental rights.

Through the resolution, the House appreciated the role played by world leaders, parliamentarians, international media, human rights organizations, countries particularly China, Malaysia, Turkey and Iran in raising their voice against the Indian atrocities in IOK. It urged the Indian side to implement forthwith numerous pending UNSC resolutions that call for a free and impartial plebiscite to determine the will of the people for the final disposition of the outstanding dispute.

The House urged India to immediately reverse its illegal actions of August 5 and October 31, repeal the draconian laws, such as Public Safety Act (PSA) and Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), withdraw its occupation forces and immediately lift the six-month long inhuman lockdown in the occupied valley. It also urged UNSC to compel India to allow Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan and called upon India to respect the UNMOGIP mandate accorded by the UNSC.

The resolution expressed concerns at Indian tactics to alter the demography of occupied Jammu and Kashmir saying it is in violation of international laws. The resolution endorsed the call made by UN High Commissioner to the Human Rights Council for a comprehensive international investigation into human rights violations in occupied Kashmir. It demanded that India immediately allows access to international organizations, parliamentarians and international media to the occupied Kashmir so that they are able to record the human rights situation there.

The House out rightly rejected the BJP government's belligerence and war mongering inspired by the exclusionary Hindutva ideology in utter disregard of human rights law and threatening to destroy peace and stability in the region and reaffirmed the unshakable resolve of the Pakistani to thwart and Indian aggression. The House called upon the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to immediately convene an OIC special summit on Kashmir.

A delegation of Kashmiri leaders led by Ahmed bin Qasim son of the detained Asia Andrabi also witnessed the proceedings and Speaker NA Asad Qaiser welcomed them on behalf of the House.

Earlier, taking part in the discussion, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said it is the first time that the world has accepted Pakistan's narrative on Kashmir dispute due to effective diplomacy of Prime Minister Imran Khan. She said the Prime Minister has exposed the Nazi inspired ideology of RSS, adding that it is also Pakistan's success that the UN Security Council has held discussions on the lingering dispute and the EU parliament prepared a draft resolution condemning in categorical terms the blatant human rights violations in occupied Kashmir.

Deploring the atrocities unleashed by Indian forces in occupied Kashmir, she said the occupation forces are using rape as a weapon of war against the Kashmiri women. She said the UN needs to fulfill its obligations towards the resolution of Kashmir dispute. "If the United Nations can resolve the East Timor issue then why cannot Kashmir?' she asked, while deploring the double standards of the international community. She also acknowledged that Pakistan needs to take extra steps from the traditional stance on Kashmir of extending 'political, moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiri people'. She said that Pakistan should also demand the UN General Assembly to take opinion from International Court of Justice (ICJ) the way the world body took in the case of East Timor, adding that altering the demography of an occupied land is a war crime.

Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said the extremist government in India should not misconstrue our desire for peace as our weakness. Referring to the war hysteria created by the Indian leadership, he said the nation is fully prepared to respond to any aggression. He said the Indian side should not forget the lesson taught by our air force to their air force in the broad daylight last year.

Khurram Dastagir of the PML-N, however, lamented that Kashmiris on both sides of LoC has lost their hope and the 220 million Pakistanis are upset with alleged 'confusing' statements by Prime Minister on Kashmir and lack of clarity in Kashmir policy. "India has occupied Kashmir and our rulers have still attached hopes with President Donald Trump for mediation", he said, adding that it will never happen as US has already declared India as its strategic partner.

In such a scenario, he suggested that Pakistan needs to join the bloc led by China and Russia.

Abdul Qadir Patel said nothing good could be expected from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he is the same person who carried out massacre of Muslims in Gujarat. He said Modi's politics is based on hatred and he is the enemy of Muslims.

Sardar Nasrullah Khan Dreshek said Kashmir is jugular vein of Pakistan. He said time warrants unity in our ranks to effectively and forcefully raise the plight of Kashmiri people at international level.

Mufti Abdul Shakoor regretted the silence of international human rights organizations on the situation in occupied Kashmir. He said the blatant human rights violations in IoK are not tolerable. He said the entire nation is united on the issue of Kashmir.

Ali Gohar said the sacrifices of Kashmiri people will not go in vain and they will see the dawn of independence one day. Referring to the love of Kashmiri people for Pakistan, he said the Kashmiri people martyred by Indian forces are buried wrapped in Pakistani flags.

Other also participated in the discussion included Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Shahnaz Baloch, Zartaj Gul, Kishwar Zehra, Amir Haider Khan Hoti, Saif-ur-Rehman Mehsud, Naureen Farooq, Kesoo Mal Das, Naz Baloch and Asad Mahmood.

The speaker, before adjourning the House till Thursday at 11 am, also updated the members about his efforts with regard to parliamentary diplomacy to internationalize the Kashmir issue and sensitize the key parliaments of the world on the worst human rights violations and Indian atrocities.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020

Comments

Comments are closed.