Senate session: Voices against Modi being raised inside, outside India, says Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in the Senate on Thursday that voices were being raised against Modi inside India and all political parties were not on one page with regard to his illegal and unconstitutional actions in Indian Occupied Kashmir.

Speaking in the Upper House of Parliament during a discussion on the latest situation in the Indian OccupiedKashmir, the minister spoke at length about the situation, arising out of the Indian erosion of special status of IoK. He said legal options were being deliberated upon, including the approaching of the International Court of Justice. He added the government would like to have input from the political parties, having seasoned legal experts.

Leader of Opposition Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq, earlier, urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan to ensure that things were carried out in a better manner and cases not manipulated. He claimed three-four judges were transferred in the middle of hearing of cases against the opposition members. He said cases were being framed against the opposition and manipulated.

Qureshi pointed out that there were three parties to the Kashmir dispute while two of the three i.e. Kashmiris and Pakistan had rejected outright the unilateral steps taken by Modi on August 05. Qureshi disputed his claim that everything was under control in IoK, asking if it was so then why curfew had been imposed, none was allowed to move in, even an Indian Congress delegation, who was invited by the local governor, was sent back from the airport.

The minister noted that Modi’s mindset was far ahead of BJP, saying it was a fascist approach, fascism while Gandhi and Nehru thinking had been buried and secular face of India distorted and said the world must understand that the secular India of Nehru stood buried and today the ideology of RSS was reigning supreme.

“While Vajpayee came to Pakistan, visited Minar-e-Pakistan, Modi mindset did not accept Pakistan as a reality what to talk of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir,” he remearked.

Referring to Modi’s statement that with whom he should talk to Pakistan, the minister said that it was just a drama, as the Prime Minister had been chairing sessions of the National Security Committee, which was participated, among others, by the forces chiefs. “Modi’s statement shows that his intension is not fair,” he said.

Owing to Modi’s foolishness of August 05, the Kashmir issue had been internationalised, when after 54 years, the UN council took the issue and this negated India’s plea of Kashmir being its internal matter.

Back in India, he said that as many as 14 petitions had been filed in the Indian Supreme Court and these included, those, submitted by retired senior armed forces officers, challenging the August 05 actions and seeking their reversal. The minister said he had a lot of respect for the Indian apex court but it was to be seen, how would the matter be decided but insisted the apex court was under tremendous pressure from RSS and other extremist elements.

In response to India’s hostile moves, the minister cautioned that if anyone tried to cast an evil on Pakistan, then its eyes would be taken out. He also emphasized that Pakistan would never backtrack from its principled position on Kashmir dispute under any pressure.

He said the people of Kashmir were not and are not alone as the entire Pakistani nation stand by them, adding that the Indian unilateral actions were not only an attack on Occupied Kashmir but they also had eyes on Pakistan.

Qureshi said that Pakistan had also expanded its diplomatic outreach to sensitize the world community about the Indian atrocities in Occupied Kashmir. He said that Prime Minister himself was contacting the world leaders.

“Today the Prime Minister held telephonic conversation with the Crown Prince of UAE. Earlier, the Prime Minister has had conversation with the Saudi Crown Prince and the French President,” he noted.

The Foreign Minister said that he was also approaching his counterparts in foreign countries. He said that a meeting of Human Rights Council was beginning on the 9th of the next month and he would attend this meeting to expose the fascist face of Modi.

He was confident that more Islamic countries would raise their voice for Kashmiris in the days to come. Opening the discussion, Leader of Opposition Raja Zafarul Haq said all the political parties should be on the same page and collectively raise voice against the illegal steps taken by the Indian government in occupied Kashmir.

He said Pakistan should forcefully raise the voice of oppressed Kashmiri people at the international level. He appreciated the stance of China, Iran and Turkey in support of Kashmiri people and called it quite encouraging. He proposed to the government to encourage and facilitate foreign media to report on prevailing situation in Held Kashmir.

The veteran lawmaker noted that many of those, who had opposed the two-nation theory of the Quaid-e-Azam today were convinced how right was he and Allama Iqbal with regards to creation of Pakistan.

Delivering a hard-hitting speech, MQM Senator Muhammad Ali Saif said that one should be fair and frank in admission of the reality that Kashmir’s freedom had been taken away and it stood occupied. He added that there was only one way of reacting to the situation and that was responding to Modi in same way with force.

“We should go beyond verbal rhetoric and take practical steps in support of Kashmiri people. Modi is sending extremist elements of RSS to the occupied territory to repeat Gujarat like massacre. Modi only understands the language of bullet,” he asserted.

He advocated arming the Kashmiri youth, who were already embracing martyrdom. And carrying out Jehad and he added by armed struggle he meant giving arms to the young Kashmiri people, who were facing brutalities of Indian forces and Kashmiri girls and women being raped.

JI’s Sirajul Haq said Pakistan was facing a more serious situation than the 1965 war with India. He said that the nation was with Kashmiris but there was a need to do more, saying action was need not just speeches regarding Occupied Kashmir.

Senator Sherry Rehman of PPP said entire Pakistan was united on the issue of Kashmir and added it was not that India, with which Pakistan wanted to have peace talks and a peace process. She noted that after 2014, India had witnessed a massive change and fascist face of it emerged.

She castigated the world community for keeping mum on the volatile situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir and the worst human tight violations there, where India had shown its biasness on the basis of religion and caste, turning Kashmir into an open air jail. She claimed the government had committed a mistake in understanding the US.

Sherry Rehman said there was an unprecedented resentment in entire Pakistani nation against the illegal Indian steps in occupied Kashmir and the imposition of indefinite curfew there. She said India could not suppress the voice of Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination.

She said occupied Kashmir had been turned into the world's biggest open air jail by the Indian authorities. She said, “We have to remind the world community of Kashmir being the nuclear flashpoint”.

Senator Sitara Ayaz of ANP wanted the government to go extra-mile in sealing with the situation with regards to Occupied Kashmir and how Pakistan’s military personnel laying down lives at LoC due to India hostilities.

Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Sirajul Haq said worst kind of atrocities are being committed in occupied Kashmir by the occupying forces. He said the entire Pakistani nation salutes the sacrifices of Kashmiri people which they have been rendering for accession to Pakistan. He said the situation warrants that Pakistan extends practical support to Kashmiri people.

Meanwhile, the House unanimously passed a resolution expressing the resolve to establish an international parliamentarians congress to promote cooperation amongst the parliaments across the world.

The resolution, moved by Leader of House Shibli Faraz, authorized the Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, to take all necessary measures to make the International Parliamentarians Congress a unique platform to bring together elected representatives from across the world acting as global parliamentarians for the whole humanity.

The resolution reads, this congress will be a worldwide network of elected representatives who voluntarily intends to work in unison to develop strategies and synergies across the parliaments to strengthen democracy and achieve a peaceful and prosperous world.