Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry Monday said Kashmir dispute was the prime contention between Indian and Pakistan and there would be no dialogue without taking the issue into consideration.

Chaudhry in his address to the Senate said that all Kashmiris martyred in the Indian-occupied area were freedom fighters as they gave their lives while resisting Indian aggression.

“Pakistan’s heart beats and bleeds for Kashmiris,” he said, adding that India should review its oppressive policies in Kashmir.

Chaudhry said that Pakistan won’t be affected by the internal situation of India. “We know appropriate response if India continues the same attitude,” he said. “Entire nation is united for national security.”

The information minister said that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision was to raise the living standards of people of South Asia living below the poverty line.

Chaudhry said India Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the line of fire for his alleged involvement in a multi-billion graft scandal, hence the Indian ruling elite desired to deflect the attention of their masses from the issue.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani condemned the Indian army chief’s tirade against Pakistan.

In his speech at the Upper House, the senator said,” The whole nation will stand by army to defend its motherland if India imposes war upon Pakistan.”

He maintained that India was involved in human rights abuses and state terrorism in Kashmir but was instead accusing Pakistan of terrorism.

The PPP senator, however, questioned government’s policy of approaching Indian officials for talks “despite knowing their stance against Pakistan”.

“Is this the right time to invite India for talks? Does no one know their stance against Pakistan?” asked Rabbani.

It is pertinent to note here that Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on September 22 said that India needed to take stern action against Pakistan.

New Delhi on Friday also called off a meeting between the Pakistani and Indian foreign ministers on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), just a day after confirming the development.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar cited “unclean intentions” on Pakistan’s side for the development.

Separately, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said visa problems being faced by Pakistani citizens living in Kuwait would be taken up with Kuwaiti authorities to address problems of overseas Pakistanis.

Responding to a calling attention notice in the Senate, she said Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi would hold a meeting with his Kuwaiti counterpart on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session in New York, and would raise this issue with him.

The minister said this issue would also be taken up during a two-day Pak-Kuwait Joint Ministerial Commission scheduled in Islamabad on Thursday.

In 2011, Kuwait had unofficially banned visas to nationals of various countries, which included Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran on the pretext of their alleged involvement in drug trafficking and criminal offences.

Responding to another calling attention notice, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad said the government was focusing on the development of Balochistan to bring the province on a par with other federating units.

Meanwhile, Leader of the House Shibli Faraz presented a report on circular debt before the Senate and said decisions should be made for the betterment of Pakistan instead of going for political point scoring. He urged members to go through the report to give their suggestions to face challenges like growing circular debt, decreasing water table and increasing load shedding.

He also rejected reports that the UNDP was going to declare Balochistan the poorest province in the world. He said Balochistan witnessed growth rate of over 13 per cent whereas it was 8.5 per cent in Punjab in the recent years. The minister said that Rs 195 billion were released during the last five years.

Published in Daily Times, September 25^th 2018.