Federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari on Thursday said that an official of Ministry of Human Rights has recently met a Vatican representative in Pakistan with the request for Pope to issue a statement on serious human rights violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IOK).
"If a statement comes from Pope on human rights violations in IOK, this would have a huge impact on Latin American states that are members of the United Nations," she said while briefing the Senate's Functional Committee on Human Rights which met under the chair of Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar.
Mazari said that gender-based violence in the valley must be highlighted, along with violence on children and no freedom of worship. "Once the siege of IOK is lifted, it has the potential of an enormous bloodbath. This is of great concern to Pakistan," she said.
The committee lauded her efforts in highlighting Kashmir cause and recommended that in addition to the Vatican, the Arch Bishop of Canterbury should also be taken on board on Kashmir issue.
Dr Mazari said the two reports published in July 2019 by the United Nations Office of the Commissioner of Human Rights raised concerns of excessive use of force by Indian security forces. The basic demand in both these reports was that the Human Rights Council must establish an independent investigation commission to probe the human rights violations in IOK, Mazari said. She said that Pakistan has stressed repeatedly that recommendations of the report be implemented. However, the minister said India went a step further by revoking the special status of the valley on August 5. She added as per policy, Pakistan had never accepted the special status of IOK. She said that most Pakistani governments have not pushed the point that India took the dispute to the UN Security Council under chapter 6; that states that this is a dispute between two member states and that it must be resolved peacefully. This, she said, makes null and void the claim of this being an internal matter of India.
The committee came down hard on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) for its 'slack diplomacy' in connection with Kashmir issue and asked the government authorities to step up their efforts to highlight Kashmir cause at the world forums. The committee members slammed the absence of Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood from the meeting and decided that a privilege motion would be moved against him if he failed to attend the committee's next meeting.
The committee members took stock of what they termed was the lack of focus of the Foreign Office on the issue of Kashmir. They recommended stringent measures to step up world power engagement; with a focus on humanitarian intervention.
While taking up the issue of death and torture of detainees in Punjab, the committee took serious notice of the absence of IG Police Punjab Arif Nawaz Khan. It, however, took briefing from DPO Rahim Yar Khan on the issue custodial torture and killing of Salahuddin Ayubi, who broke into an ATM machine in Rahim Yar Khan. The committee recommended that a JIT be formed to investigate the matter independently. The committee was informed that various organs of the victim have been sent for testing to ascertain the reason for Salahuddin's death, results for which are awaited. The chairman committee was of the view that there were various questions pertaining to this case that can only be answered by IG Police Punjab. He stressed the need for him to be present in the next meeting when this issue would be taken up once again in more detail as forensic reports of the victim would be available as well. Measures for police reform were stressed to thrash a way out to curb custodial killings in Punjab.
While taking up the case of Amir Masih, the committee was of the view that this was a gross violation of human rights as he was taken to an unknown place for interrogation and in an attempt to flee the place he jumped down from the second floor where he was detained. The committee was assured that strict action would be taken against the sub-inspector involved.
Amir Masih was detained without fulfilling legal formalities. The committee was of the view that a strong recommendation must be sent from this forum, after detailed discussions with the Ministry of Human Rights and the Interior Ministry.
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