Senate adopts resolution against Modi

New Delhi wants to divert attention of world community from atrocities being committed
by Indian armed forces on Kashmiris

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday adopted a resolution unanimously against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his anti-Pakistan tirade.

The senators slammed the Indian prime minister for linking the Kashmiris’ freedom struggle with terrorism and blaming Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism.

Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif cautioned the Indian Army chief that the Pakistan armed forces would give such a befitting reply to any real surgical strike, if it happens, inside Pakistan that they would not even think of any fake strike.

The House unanimously adopted the resolution, moved by PPP’s Senator Sehar Kamran, which states, “This House strongly condemns the statement of Indian Premier Narendra Modi attributing terrorism to Pakistan and drawing a parallel between India and Israel evoking a parallel between Kashmir and Palestine, during the recently-held BRICS Summit held in Goa, India.

“The House appreciates the reaction of the international community to this baseless propaganda by the Indian prime minister. The House believes that the statement by Indian premier was an effort to divert the attention of the international community from Indian atrocities on the people of Indian Held Kashmir,” the resolution said.

Khawaja Asif pointed out that in order to divert the attention from its deepening domestic, economic and political issues, India had tried to stage a drama of fake surgical strike and when it did not work, it resorted to LoC and the Working Boundary violations but the valiant armed forces of Pakistan retaliated in a befitting manner.

The minister spelt out the reasons for this type of postures by India: he noted that at a time when the 16-nation alliance in Afghanistan was busy in dealing with terrorism, Pakistan’s brave armed forces had taken the war against terrorism to its logical end. Also, side by side with the Taliban, Daesh was gaining strength in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s successes against terrorism, he noted, had been recognised by the world community and sanctuaries in the North Waziristan Agency had been either eliminated or radically confined. The minister said it was also part of India’s policy to engage the armed forces on the eastern border but the Operation Zarb-e-Azb continued steadily with full force and India had failed in its ploy.

The minister also said that the firing and violations of the LoC and the Working Boundary was a proof of India’s attempt to avoid the composite dialogue with Pakistan, which sought headway in finding ways to resolve all issues with the neighbouring country. He said it was also New Delhi’s compulsion to maintain tension with Pakistan in view of approaching elections in three key Indian states, including Eastern Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

Referring to continued Indian forces' aggression against innocent Kashmiris, the minister said that India was focused on building up such conditionson LoC and the Working Boundary to divert attention from the fresh wave of freedom movement in the Indian Held Kashmir, spearheaded by the Kashmiri youth.

India, he pointed out, made a failed attempt to link the indigenous Kashmir liberation movement with terrorism. He said on its part, Pakistan continued moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris’ indigenous movement, which would, God willing, reach its ultimate destination.

To malign the movement, India had earlier also tried to tag it as a movement of terrorism, but the world community refused to buy it, the minister maintained. He said till December 2016, there had been a total of 325 ceasefire violations by India: 290 along the LoC and 40 along the Working Boundary, which claimed 45 innocent civilians’ lives while another 138 were wounded.

The government, the minister continued, had been raising successfully and forcefully India’s aggressive moves at appropriate fora, including the United Nations, OIC and with UN Military Observers Group, which should probe and report to the world body.

Asif reiterated that the army had retaliated in a matching manner to India’s violations. Earlier, Senator Sehar Kamran, Lt-Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum of PML-N, MQM’s Col (retd) Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, Sassui Palijo of PPP and PTI’s Mohsin Aziz slammed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his aggressive designs against Pakistan and his bid to crush the ongoing freedom movement in Indian Held Kashmir.

They said that Pakistan could not match Modi’s craziness and mindlessness, as the peoples of the two nations wanted peace and harmony. They believed the moves by the Modi government were a cause of regional destabilisation.

The senators also decried India’s dream of becoming a ‘greater India’ and imaginary vision of ‘Ashoka’s India’. Some of them called for adopting a more assertive position at the global level against New Delhi and giving a matching response to its aggression. They blasted Modi for resorting to water terrorism and the threat of pulling out of the Indus Waters Treaty.

They urged the government to go for an aggressive diplomatic move to expose India, which knew well it could not afford a war with Pakistan. They decried that even Pakistani artistes were hurled threats and denied awards, which they deserved and were nominated for. 

Winding up the discussion in the House on a deferred motion by PPP’s Senator Sehar Kamran, Khawaja Asif asserted previously also, to fool the Indian people, the drama of fake surgical strike was staged. He noted that recently, the Indian Army chief had talked about another surgical strike like the previous one which was totally bogus.

Jamaat-e-Islami’s Senator Sirajul Haq tabled a bill to further amend the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860: The Pakistan Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which envisages tougher punishment, including jail term and fine for those, who would deal in obscene material. However, his other bill seeking a constitutional amendment was rejected by 11 votes to seven after the Law Minister Zahid Hamid opposed it.

Senator Ch Tanvir Khan’s bill to further amend the Ehtram-e-Ramazan Ordinance, 1981 was referred to the House panel concerned for consideration and report: Sixteen senators voted for the bill while 15 opposed it.