Would have sought Russia, China’s backing over India’s IHK move: Zardari

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: Members of both houses of Parliament on Wednesday expressed their resolve to firmly stand with Kashmiris and urged the government to launch a diplomatic offensive to garner support from other countries on Kashmir issue.

Speaking during the sitting of a joint session of Parliament, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari said had the situation presented itself during his tenure, he would have gone to Russia, China, United Arab Emirates and other countries to seek support.

He said during his tenure as president, he went to China and other countries multiple times to create goodwill for Pakistan. He stressed that Pakistan would have to rekindle its relations with important countries. He said Pakistanis were keenly aware of the fight waged by Kashmiris who even bury their dead in Pakistani flag.

“No house in occupied Kashmir is without a martyr or a casualty,” he added. The PPP was formed on the issue on Kashmir, he said, adding that after the 1971 war, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto held a dialogue with Indira Gandhi at a time when India had held thousands of Pakistani prisoners and was occupying Pakistani land. He said the Kashmiri leadership believed in the two-nation theory of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

“Pakistan was created so that Muslims could spend lives according to the teachings of Islam,” he added. “India is closely watching the economic and political situation in Pakistan.” Zardari said Bhutto took back land from India, adding Syria still could not recover Golan Heights from Israel despite the support of Islamic countries. “Kashmiris are being oppressed and we have to show solidarity with them.”

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Khawaja Asif said India did not respond to Pakistan’s call to engage in talks. He said India was following the policies adopted by Israel in Palestine. He said Pakistan was economically vulnerable and was asking for aid from other countries. He said it seemed like India would push Kashmiris on the Pakistani side across the Line of Control (LoC). The nation should get united in view of the situation in Kashmir and aggression by India, he said, adding Pakistan would have to launch a diplomatic offensive and take along the Islamic countries and go for a long drawn diplomatic offensive. He said a policy of appeasement with India would not work.

Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry said the Opposition should strengthen the hands of government. “We do not want war but if the time comes, every Pakistani will fight.”

He said Pakistan should end its diplomatic relations with India, adding when there was no diplomacy going on between the two countries, why were they spending money on diplomatic missions. He said India was trying to change the demography of occupied Kashmir. “The international community should realise its responsibility as the effects of a war between India and Pakistan would be felt in other capitals of the world,” he added.

Senator Raza Rabbani in his speech said India indicated early this year that the Modi government would revoke Article 370 in Kashmir. India would be moving towards ethnic cleansing, murder and genocide and refugees would come to Pakistan, he predicted. He said Pakistan would have to create a national narrative that India was denying the people of Kashmir the right to self determination. The rights to the people of Kashmir had been given under international laws and treaties were being violated, he added.

Rabbani said when Parliament would take the lead, there could be a structural change in Pakistan’s foreign policy. He said Pakistan should refuse to accept India as the policeman of the region and should look towards Asia instead of the West. Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said the annexation of disputed Kashmir was an international conspiracy against Kashmiris as well as Pakistan. India had tried to abolish LoC and tried to turn it into an international border. He stressed adopting collective approach to cope with the situation as no single political party can tackle the latest situation of Kashmir.

He thanked China and Turkey for extending support to Pakistan in the conflict with India. He demanded recalling Pakistani high commissioner from New Delhi and send the Indian high commissioner in Pakistan back. Mushahid said a diplomatic emergency should be declared for mustering diplomatic support for Kashmir and demanded of constituting a Parliamentary Task Force for lobbying against Indian atrocities in held Kashmir. Dr Ramesh Kumar suggested a committee comprising of parliamentarians from all political parties should be set up to highlight the Kashmir issue effectively across the world. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf of PPP said Kashmir was the unfinished agenda of partition of sub-continent. He said Kashmir had become a human tragedy and unfortunately the international community did not pay any heed to settle the issue peacefully. “Modi has made a botched attempt to divide Kashmir,” he added.