Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Legislators in Lower House of parliament on Monday unanimously adopted separate condemnation resolutions against ongoing Indian atrocities in the Held Kashmir and 2014terrorism incident at the Army Public School Peshawar.

Both the resolutions were moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan in the National Assembly, which met with Speaker Asad Qaiser in the chair.

“India should stop human rights violations in the occupied valley,” the resolution on Kashmir demanded. It expressed serious concerns over the killing of 14 Kashmiris and injuring of 200 others by the Indian security forces in Pulwama district on Saturday. It expressed complete solidarity with the brave people of Kashmir, asserting that the brutal tactics of the occupation forces cannot deter Kashmiris from their genuine demand of freedom. It also welcomed the statement of the OIC on the human rights situation in the occupied valley.

The resolution called upon the government of India to bring an end to all human rights violations and state terrorism, lift restrictions on press and internet and give due rights to the people in Held Kashmir. It reiterated that Pakistan will continue providing diplomatic, moral and political support to the Kashmiris in their just struggle for freedom.

The resolution also urged the United Nations to take notice of the human rights violations in the occupied valley by New Delhi and work out an immediate solution of the decades-long conflict between Pakistan and India.

In a separate resolution, the Lower House strongly condemned the killing of innocent children at the Army Public School Peshawar in 2014 and reiterated to implement the National Action Plan (NAP) in letter and spirit.

Speaking in the House, Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari said the PTI government would devise a comprehensive policy to highlight the issue of Kashmir at all world forums. She lamented that Pakistan’s Kashmir policy had not been vibrant for the last many years due to which India could not be pressurized effectively to resolve the issue. She said successive governments did not raise this issue vociferously at the relevant international forums.

Mazari said the report of UN Human Rights Office on human rights violations is a welcoming development which was long overdue. “We must give the world a conflict resolution model to resolve the decades-long issue,” she said.

PPP leader and former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said political parties across the spectrum were united in condemning the gross human rights violations in the occupied valley. He said PPP leadership always raised the issue of Kashmir very strongly at every forum.

Referring to war on terror, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said the APS incident can never be forgotten. He said his party has a clear stance on the scourge of terrorism as party chief and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was martyred in a terrorist attack. He said Pakistani nation is brave and resilient and will successfully defeat this evil.

Taking the floor, Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said the nation was united to defeat the menace of terrorism. He said the tragic incident of terrorist attack on Army Public School in Peshawar in 2014 brought the whole nation together to curtail this scourge. Pakistan Army launched successful operations against the hideouts of terrorists and successfully neutralized them, he said. “Our valiant security forces have made the country a cradle of peace due to their uncountable sacrifices,” he added.

Shehbaz said the bloodbath of Kashmiris had been going on for decades and the criminal silence of international community on this issue is perplexing. He demanded the government to bring a solid policy to force India to stop bloodshed in the occupied valley and give Kashmiris their right to self-determination. He assured opposition’s full support to the government on the issue.

On the issue of thrashing cameraman of a private TV channel by a security guard of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif outside parliament, Shehbaz condemned the incident and assured full cooperation of his party in the investigation process.

The opposition parties once again walked out of the National Assembly in protest against non-issuance of production orders for detained PML-N MNA Khawaja Saad Rafique. Shehbaz Sharif reminded Speaker Asad Qaiser of his promise not to disappoint the members of the House regarding production orders of Rafique. The speaker replied that he was looking into the matter.

Shehbaz said the opposition would stage walkout in protest. The opposition members including PPP walked out of the session.

Sheikh Fiazuddin pointed out lack of quorum after the walkout. The speaker adjourned the session till Tuesday at 11.00 am.

Published in Daily Times, December 18^th2018.