Senate denounces Indian human rights violations in occupied Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday unanimously passed a resolution condemning the killing of innocent Kashmiris and the grave human rights violations being committed by the Indian security forces in Indian occupied Kashmir (IOK). Opposition leader Sherry Rehman moved the resolution in the house.

The Senate urged the international community, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the United Nations (UN), and international human rights organisations to denounce the repeated violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.

The resolution strongly and unequivocally condemned the recent escalation of state-sponsored violation in Shopian and Islamabad districts of occupied Kashmir, which claimed the lives of many people and injured scores of others.

“The house extends its deepest condolences to the families of martyrs and reiterates its undying solidarity with the people of Kashmir in their struggle for freedom and right to self-determination in the face of the most brutal state terrorism perpetrated by the Indian government. We assure the population of IOK of our continuous support for the Kashmir cause on every political and diplomatic front,” the resolution said.

It further said that for decades, the people of Kashmir have suffered violent oppression at the hands of the Indian army, which had committed brutalities with full impunity. Due to the ongoing Indian violence in the valley, thousands of innocent people have been brutally martyred, while millions have been orphaned and widowed.

The Indian state’s deplorable actions ranged from shutting down schools, restricting movement of civilians, suspending internet services, and using pellet guns and tear gas in an effort to subjugate the Kashmir freedom movement.

“The Senate firmly believes that such indiscriminate use of force is a violation of the most fundamental human rights, which would only fuel further discontent in an already volatile region,” it further said.

The resolution also stated that the danger of further escalation could only be thwarted if pressure is intensified to bring India to the negotiating table in the hope of finding a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir conflict.

It recommended the government to appoint a special envoy and representative to simultaneously raise the issue of Kashmir at all international forums.

Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Attaur Rehman strongly condemned Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir. He demanded that a similar resolution should also be passed against a recent American airstrike on a religious seminary in Afghanistan in which scores of innocent children lost their lives.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq said that durable peace could not be established in the region without first resolving the long-standing issue of Kashmir. Practical steps should be taken to resolve the Kashmir issue per UN resolutions, he added.

Meanwhile, Rana Maqbool said that the kind of brutalities being unleashed by the Indian forces on the people of the occupied valley could not be matched by any other ongoing international conflict.

Further, former Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was behind the killing of innocent Kashmiris and Pakistan should raise the issue effectively at all international forums.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Chaudhary Sarwar said that the people of Pakistan fully supported their Kashmiri brethren in their just cause and called for the issue to be settled per UN Security Council resolutions.

Moreover, Mushahid Hussain Syed said that Kashmir issue was a matter of national unity and a strategy should be devised in light of the recommendations adopted by the Senate after the martyrdom of a Kashmiri freedom fighter, namely Burhanuddin Wani.

Senators Nauman Wazir, Sajid Mir, Abdul Qayyum, Anwarul Haq, Ahmed Khan and Raza Rabbani also condemned the unabated human rights violation in occupied Kashmir and called for addressing the issue according to the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.