The Senate Defence Committee (SDC) has passed a resolution to pay homage to martyred female pilot Maryam Mukhtiar.
The committee was met here on Friday under the chairmanship of Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, unanimously passed a resolution proposing a Gallantry Award for Flt. Lt. Maryam Mukhtiar Shaheed, who is the first female pilot in the Muslim world to embrace martyrdom in the line of duty.
The resolution termed Mukhtiar Shaheed, who embraced martyrdom on 24 November as a “role model for youth and women of Pakistan”.
The committee was also briefed on the security situation both on the Eastern and Western borders.
To date, in 2015, Indian troops have committed 247 ceasefire violations, 163 along the Line of Control and 84 along the Working Boundary and due to Indian firing, 39 civilians embraced shahadat and 150 civilians were injured.
The Ministry of Defence, which was represented by Secretary Defence, Lt. Gen. (R) Alam Khattak, as well as Additional Secretary, Vice Admiral Mukhtar, apprised the SDC that since the election of Prime Minister Modi in 2015, “relations between Pakistan and India have worsened because of Indian wilful violation of the ceasefire agreed to between the two countries in 2003”.
Although, every Tuesday, the Directors General, Military Operation (DGMO) of both countries talk to each other on the hotline, the ceasefire violations by India have raised tensions. Regarding Western border with Afghanistan, the MoD mentioned that till date, there have been 132 cross-border violations from the Afghan side.
The SDC had directed the MoD, pursuant to a Public Petition sent to the SDC by a relative of the victims of the APS massacre, to provide full and comprehensive compensation to the next of kin of shuhada.
The MoD briefed the committee that three kinds of compensation packages have been approved and completed, including one each from the Federal Government, the Pakistan Army and the Provincial Government of KPK. The federal government has provided Rs.183 million to the next of kin of the Shuhada including a lump-sum grant ofRs.3 million as monetary compensation, an education grant for children’s study for the next 10 years and a housing construction grant of Rs.5 million per person.
The Pakistan army also arranged Umrah for the next of kin to 147 persons, free education to civilian kin of the Shaheed students, as well as jobs for the next of kin relatives plus admission in Cadet Colleges for the injured students well as visits to friendly countries like China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Oman, Tajikistan and USA.
