- Fazl conspicuous by his absence from international moot on Kashmir
Just imagine: Pakistan’s parliament hosts an international seminar over the plight of Kashmiri people at the hands of occupying Indian forces, and world parliamentarians and scholars attend the seminar but Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the Chairman of Parliament’s Special Committee on Kashmir, neither attended nor nominated any of his colleagues to attend it.
This is precisely what happened with the two-day conference jointly hosted by Young Parliamentarians Forum and Ministry of Foreign Affairs on January 5-6 at PIPS which was largely attended by parliamentarians and scholars from Europe, North America, Britain and Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) but the Chairman of Kashmir Committee did not appear in the seminar.
The absence of Maulana from the conference compelled Kashmir Committee member Ijazul Haq to himself take initiative and chair one of the plenary sessions held during the conference.
But this is not an isolated incident where the Maulana failed to appear to discuss Kashmir. In fact, the opposition says that he would appear anywhere to defend Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on allegations of corruption, he will even jump to blame military operations against terrorists, but he is mute when it comes to Kashmir.
It is pertinent to mention here that Maulana Fazl addressed a press conference last week in Peshawar and criticised PTI Chairman Imran Khan but did not utter a single word about Kashmir. He also did not share any health problems to the media.
While Kashmir Committee looks dysfunctional, its ToRs say the purpose of the committee is to monitor human rights violations and atrocities committed by the Indian forces in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), mobilise world opinion in support of the cause of right of self-determination, and provide political and moral support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. But it has miserably failed in doing so.
The committee members disagree over the number of times it has met since its formation in 2013. While PTI lawmaker Engr Dawar Kundi says it has met five times, others say it met four times in the past three years.
It is interesting to note that the Maulana, who as Chairman of the Committee enjoys the status of a federal minister and has been enjoying related perks and privileges including a bulletproof car and a residence in the ministerial colony at the state’s expense, but appears to have no interest in his job.
The Maulana was offered the slot of Chairman of the Kashmir Committee in 2008 as a political bribe by the then PPP government under a special arrangement. Later, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif continued with the arrangement and offered him the special post despite his failure to raise Kashmir issue internationally.
Since his election in 2013, observers believe Maulana Fazl has reduced the committee’s role to a total freeze, serving the cause of Indian oppressive regime. At times, however, a press release is issued mostly by the foreign office.
There is a general perception that due to Maulana’s lack of interest in Kashmir issue, Pakistan has miserably failed to update the world about the recent developments taking place in IOK, especially about the rising atrocities of the occupying Indian forces amid the rise in public protests in the wake of the martyrdom of Kashmiri poster-boy Burhan Wani.
Even Islamic countries and human rights organisations have not been approached by the committee to update them on the plight of the Kashmiris. The restraint shown by Maulana in forming public opinion for Kashmiris, both home and abroad, was considered more chilling and poignant.
When Pakistan Today contacted for comments, PIPS Executive Director Zafarullah Khan said that the organisers had made several efforts to contact Maulana Fazlur Rehman but failed.
“Ultimately, we reached out to Deputy Chairman Senate Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and communicated the invitation to Maulana sahib. Later, we were informed that Maulana would not be attending for medical reasons,” he added.
Ijazul Haq says that Maulana Fazl was undergoing some medical procedure and hence he could not attend the moot.
Nasim Khalid, the Director General of Kashmir Committee, says that a Committee meeting was being planned for mid-January but the decision has now been delayed due to a minor surgery conducted on Maulana only two days back.
“Maulana Fazl underwent a minor surgery conducted to remove his gallbladder. He is stable and has been shifted to his room,” he added. Asked when the Kashmir Committee was likely to be convened, Nasim Khalid said that the meeting could be held in the last week of January.
“But it depends upon the speed of recovery of Maulana Fazlur Rehman,” he added.
“Maulana feels since it is a special committee, it should meet only to discuss extraordinary developments,” he said. Asked whether the recent developments in the Indian Occupied Kashmir were normal, the official said he could not speak on behalf of the chairman.
“It would be better if you could talk to Maulana or his spokesman Mufti Abrar,” he added. The cell phone numbers of Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Mufti Abrar remained switched off for three consecutive days till the filing of this report.
