The Senate Defence Committee meeting on Thursday, under the chairmanship of Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, was given a detailed briefing about Indian aggressive move on the land and sea by the Ministry of Defence, after which it passed a strong resolution condemning India’s wilful violation across the LOC.
The Senate Defence Committee urged the UNMOGIP and the international community to take note of Indian aggression and also urged the Government of Pakistan to take concerted measure against these aggressive actions.
The committee also praised the proactive and professional role of Pakistan Navy in “spotting, monitoring, exposing and driving the Indian submarine out” last month. The committee also directed the Ministry of Defence to give a befitting response to any future Indian aggression and directed them to keep the Senate Defence Committee fully posted on this count.
Earlier, the Defence secretary informed the committee that till November, 2016, the Indian troops had committed 330 ceasefire violations, 290 along the LOC and 40 along the Working Boundary as a result of which 12 soldiers and 45 civilians embraced martyrdom and 130 were injured. The purpose of these Indian violations was to divert attention from the popular uprising of the Kashmiri people, avoid resumption of dialogue with Pakistan and also undermine Pakistan’s success in operation Zarb-e-Azb by diverting forces from western to eastern border.
The committee also considered the National Command Authority (Amendment) Bill 2016 and after detailed discussion on its various sections and comments from all the members present, as well as a briefing by Ministry of Law and the Strategic Plan Division, the amendment was approved by majority with a note of dissent from Senator Farhatullah Babar.
During the meeting, Senator Mushahid Hussain said that the people and parliament of Pakistan were proud of their valiant armed forces for the heroic role they were playing in protecting the country’s land and maritime boundary as well as protecting the people from the scourge of terrorism.
The meeting ended with Fateha for victims of the PIA plane crash and a vote of thanks to the chair. The meeting was attended by senators Lt-Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum, Farhatullah Babar, Javed Abbasi, Salahuddin Tirmizi, Hidayatullah, Ilyas Bilour, Maulana Attaur Rehman and Col (retd) Tahir Hussain Mashhadi.
