Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Senators on Wednesday lamented the butchery, persecution and genocide of Rohingya Muslims.

The House took up the issue during the debate following clubbed adjournment motions and calling attention notices over the issue.

Taking part in the discussion, Senator, Ateeq Shaikh said social media was disseminating information about atrocities against Muslims in Burma. He asked to start negotiations with China for citizenship rights to Rohingya Muslims and demanded international organizations to send missions to Burma.

JUI-F Senator Hamdullah said that no one was ready to give citizenship to Rohingya Muslims and demanded to register a case against the Prime Minister of Burma and take back the Nobel Peace Prize from Aung San Suu Kyi. He also asked for a more responsive role of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) to stop atrocities against Muslims.

JI Senator Sirajul Haq said that China should play its role for resolving the issue and the Muslim world should stand united against these atrocities. He said that the Rohingya Muslims were subjected unbearable atrocities and regretted that the Burma government initiated crack down against the Muslim minorities there.

JUI-F Senator Talha Mehmood, who has returned after visiting Rohingya Muslims at the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar, said that Muslims were living in a miserable conditions at the border of Bangladesh. They were living under open sky and relief efforts were also being hampered due to non-permission by Bangladesh government, he added.

He said that billions of rupees had been collected by the people but there was no mechanism in place to ensure delivering this amount to the deserving persons.

Taking part in the discussion of genocide of Rohingya Muslim, Senator Farhatullah Babar demanded that suspension of military equipment, armaments and weapons to Myanmar till Naypidaw heeded calls to protect the besieged Muslims. JF thunder jets, weapons, arms and armaments that are sold to Myanmar may not be actually used against Rohingya but as potent symbols of state’s coercive powers they encourage to a regime to repress its people refuse to heed world community, he said.

Giving Myanmar arms and ammunition would encourage it to continue robbing the Rohingya of their lives, property and chastity with impunity, he said. He said that Pakistan itself could not liberalize trade with India and declined Afghan transit trade through Wagah arguing that an economically empowered India would make it more intransigent towards Pakistan.

If that indeed was the establishment logic then we must also ban sale of armaments and weapons to prevent the Myanmar regime from becoming more intransigent and obstinate, he said. Senator Nisar Muhammad said, “We all as human beings express grief and sorrow over these atrocities.”

He urged all Muslim countries to stand united to stop these atrocities against Muslims. Senator Abdul Qayyum said severe human rights violations were being made against Muslims in Burma.

He demanded to take into confidence China on the issue who could help to resolve the matter.

Senators Nauman Wazir, Shibli Faraz, Murtaza Wahab, Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, Nehal Hashmi, Abdul Qayyum and Nighat Mirza also expressed their views and condemned killings of Muslims in Burma.

Earlier, Minister for SAFRON Abdul Qadir Baloch informed the Senate that no proposal was under consideration for renaming Islamabad airport. He was responding to a calling attention notice moved by PPP Senator Taj Haider regarding proposal to change the name of Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad.

He said that no one can deny the sacrifices and political contribution of Benazir Bhutto and no proposal was under consideration for changing the name. The minister said that a committee has been formed under Senator Hasil Bizenjo for naming the new Islamabad airport being constructed at Fateh Jang Islamabad and concerns of the senators would be conveyed to the committee.

Sponsored by Senator Mohsin Aziz, the House took up another calling attention notice which was regarding the report of the IMF about the risks posed to the economic outlook of Pakistan. Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid responded to it and informed the Hose about the economic situation of the country.

A JUI-F lawmaker pointed out the quorum, which led to the adjournment of the proceedings. The House will now meet today (Thursday) at 3pm.

Published in Daily Times, September 14^th 2017.