Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Shehryar Khan Afridi on Friday expressed grave concerns over the deteriorating health of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani and urged international human rights organizations and International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) to take practical measures to help the ailing Kashmiri leader be sent abroad for medical treatment.
Chairing a special meeting of Advisory Boards of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir, Shehryar Afridi led a special prayer for the wellbeing and health recovery of APHC leader Syed Ali Geelani.
The meeting also unanimously condemned the brutal killing of seven Kashmiri youth in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) on Friday and called on the international human rights organisations to take action against those involved in ongoing genocide in IIOJ&K and those who were involved in the killing of Kashmiri youth be brought to justice and sanctions be imposed on individuals and officials of the occupational regime who were involved in human rights violations against the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Shehryar Afridi said that the Terms of Reference (ToRs) of the Advisory Boards have been finalised and the boards would now be chaired by Conveners of Subcommittees of the Kashmir Committee.
These advisory boards would act as the face of narrative building process on Kashmir, he added. “Each Advisory board would have 12 members and their nominations would be notified by the Parliament. The new website of Kashmir Committee would act as knowledge depository on Kashmir dispute and it would also be translated in seven languages,” he added.
He said that each advisory board will meet twice in a month and all agenda items and minutes would be shared with the main committee. He said the advisory board meetings would be held in across country.
Shehryar Khan Afridi shared a holistic and proactive plan of action of the Kashmir Committee to help raise Kashmir at all global forums. He said that the committee has been working on building subcommittees in the form of advisory boards to cover all possible fronts on Kashmir. He said that the Kashmir Committee has shifted its functioning from traditional path to a holistic narrative building on Kashmir. He said that the Kashmir Committee has been working with Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to ensure provision of level playing field on the digital space.
He said that an Advisory Board has been formed involving Information Technology (IT) experts to ensure maximum space on digital front. He said for adding new vigor and punch to Kashmir narrative, Kashmir Committee has formed an Advisory Board on Academia to push for new research and content to the narrative on Kashmir.
He said that following the western model, Kashmir Committee has formed an Advisory Board on Culture to further story telling on Kashmir. He said that Indian occupational regime has suppressed media in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and stories and imagery is not coming out despite matchless sacrifices by Kashmir journalists. He said that on January 31, Indian colonial regime in Kashmir has registered an FIR against Kashmiri media outlet, The Kashmir Walla, to suppress media freedom. He said that criminal cases were being registered against journalists in Indian occupational regime to gag media as India wanted to stop imagery and stories coming out of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
He said that the cultural front is being formed to push narrative on Kashmir. He said that top artistes, thinkers and film makers are being added to the Advisory Board on Culture to project Kashmiri culture which is being destroyed by occupational regime in IIOJK under its genocide plan. He said that in order to project Kashmiri sports, Kashmir Committee was supporting Kashmir Premier League to put Kashmir on global sports map. He said that Youth Ambassadors are being projected to become vlogers, bloggers and social media activist to help story telling on Kashmir.
He said that among one of the newest agendas of Kashmir Committee is to work on EU Disinfo Lab report to expose the dubious approaches of India to create bias in global opinion by projecting fake news and baseless propaganda against Pakistan through fake media outlets, fake websites and fake NGOs. He said that Kashmir Committee also formed an Advisory Board on Lawfare to explore future strategy and options on legal aspects of Kashmir dispute.