The Senate Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan has expressed its concern over relief efforts for flood-affected people in Indian-occupied Kashmir and decided to lodge a formal protest to India through the Foreign Office. The Committee met with Senator Baz Muhammad Khan in the chair in the Parliament House on Wednesday. The Committee discussed the loss of human lives as well as damage/loss caused to property, and livestock, roads and infrastructure due to recent heavy rain and floods in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The Committee members were of the view that India who calls itself world's biggest secular democracy should stop its discriminatory attitude in providing relief to the flood affectees in occupied Kashmir. Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Muhammad Birjees Tahir said that India was discriminating among the people on religious ground in distribution and provision of relief goods to the flood affected people. He said that his ministry has written a letter to the Foreign Office to take up this issue on diplomatic level for provision of relief goods to the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir.
The meeting started with prayers for those who lost their lives in floods and discussed/analysed the plight of the people in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) after recent floods. Replying to a question of Senator Moula Bakhsh Chandio, the Chief Secretary of AJ&K told the Committee that the losses in AJ&K were mainly due to landslides caused as a result of rains and flash floods. These floods have nothing to do with the water coming from India and are purely because of extensive rainfall, he informed the committee.
Senators expressed their concern on preventive and precautionary measures in AJ&K. They were of the view that iron gabions should be built to avoid landslides which caused loss of precious lives and infrastructure. The Chief Secretary, however, stated that the mountain terrain in AJ&K has wet soil and the situation after extensive monsoon rains becomes uncontrollable. These mountains have become weak after the 2005 earth quakes and landslides have become regular a happening. He informed the committee that other than Mirpur, there was no flat land in AJ&K and there was no possible way of changing the life patterns of the people living on mountains. The role of administration judged from relief efforts and in this connection the AJ&K and the federal governments have performed at their best.
The DG of SDMA briefing the Senators, said that 3,000 people have been evacuated from Bagh, Poonch, Kotli and Mirpur. The pictures of the devastation caused by floods shown in the briefing shocked the Senators and they asked the administration to come up with the detailed report in next meeting.
Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Muhammad Birjees Tahir proposed the committee that the NDMA Chairman, the DG of Metrological Department and the Foreign Secretary should also be called in the next meeting of the committee, which was welcomed by the Chairman. The Senators appreciated the Minister for attending the meeting to which the Minister replied that he used to be a member of Standing Committees and he held the panels in high regard.
The meeting was chaired by Senator Baz Muhammad Khan and attended by Senator Moula Bakhsh Chandio, Senator Mir Muhammad Ali Rind, Senator Rubina Irfan, Senator Zahida Khan, the Secretary of Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, the Chief Secretary of AJ&K and the DG of SDMA, AJ&K.