The senators, mostly from opposition, on Tuesday stressed upon the international community to play its role in bringing an end to the ongoing atrocities on the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK) by the Indian military, which have been continued for around three-and-a-half months.
Speaking on the floor of the house, Leader of the Opposition in Senate Raja Zafar-ul-Haq said the lockdown in the occupied valley has entered its 100th day. "In this intense weather, the innocent people of Kashmir are deprived of even the basic necessities of life. The people are forcefully confined to their homes. The men, women and children are being mercilessly slaughtered to death. Things cannot go on like that in the IoK."
He slammed the international community, especially the United Nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), for its failure to put pressure on India to end its reign of brutality in the occupied region.
"After India, if anyone is to be blamed for the situation in IoK, it is UN and OIC. So much blood of the innocent has been spilled but the UN and OIC are yet to wake up to these grave atrocities. In my opinion, it is the gross failure of the UN and OIC not to play their role to grant the Kashmiris the right to self-determination and bring an end to bloodshed in IoK."
Haq also flayed the role of the federal government, saying, "Not only internationally, but strong and effective steps are required to be taken at the government level, domestically, to strongly highlight the Kashmir issue. The government needs to aggressively take on India. This is only possible through aggressive diplomacy and by forging internal political unity to reflect a unified public and political sentiment on Kashmir."
Other senators including Jehanzeb Jamaldini from Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and Farooq Naek and Sherry Rehman from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) also shared views in the Senate and condemned India's atrocities in IoK.
Ties between the two South Asian neighbours, Pakistan and India, have been at the lowest ebb since August 5 this year when Indian parliament deprived the IoK of the special autonomous status it enjoyed for decades, with the repealing of Article 370.
Since then, Pakistan has taken a number of initiatives to respond to this move including suspension of bilateral trade with India, expulsion of Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria, denial of Pakistan's airspace to Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and PM Modi, suspension of Samjhauta Express and Thar Express train services, and convening a joint session of the Parliament against Indian parliament's repealing of Article 370 among other measures.
Pakistan observed October 27 as Black Day to commemorate India's illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.
"We express our unshakable solidarity with the people of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and assure our Kashmiri brothers and sisters that Pakistan will always be shoulder-to-shoulder with them. Pakistan will continue its full moral, political and diplomatic support until the Kashmiri people realize their legitimate right to self-determination in accordance with the United Nations Charter and the applicable UN Security Council resolutions," the PM said in the statement.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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