Senators for fresh push to expose Indian agenda on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: The government was asked in the Senate on Wednesday to give a fresh push to its political, diplomatic and legal options to expose India for furtherance of its political agenda, using religion, rape and abuse of human rights in Indian Occupied Kashmir and other parts.

Opposition senators also assailed the government for not being able to effectively respond to the situation, PM Modi’s Hindutva mindset had unleashed following his August 05 illegal, immoral and unconstitutional actions and hurling threats at Pakistan with regards to Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Taking part in the on-going debate, former Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani noted that India was now Hindu fascist state, having said goodbye to Indian pluralism. “India thinks it has won Kashmir but it in fact has lost the soul of its secularism and democracy. By centralizing power and suppressing the claims of national minorities, India has dealt a blow to Indian federalism that held the state together,” he noted.

Rabbani contended that what New Delhi had failed to realize was that it had diversity of minorities, which include the Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs and Jains, among others. He pointed out that there were a number of states with special status under Indian constitution: Assam, Arunchal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Sikkim while some others like Maharashtra and Gujarat had designated scheduled areas.

He noted that the story of Indian diversity being held together rested on strong democratic institutions, which now had been plagued by majoritarianism and opposition being subjected to calls of corruption thus making them defensive. “Thus federalism is being rendered subservient to Hindutva: an independent judiciary falling prey to Hindu nationalism, Indian secularism is drowning in the blood and screams of its Muslims and other minorities,” he regretted.

With this, he continued, the edifice of Indian state was eroding and the tide of Indian nationalism was not going to wash away the core issues that haunted the real India not the Bollywood India. He noted that in Indian Occupied Kashmir, courts had delayed hearing habeas corpus cases, decline to take up matters of mass detention and denied bail to opposition leaders.

Rabbani cautioned that the abrogation of Article-370 of Indian constitution, the weakening of Indian institutions and marginalization of the Muslims and other minorities had consequences beyond Kashmir.

Referring to the PTI government policy on the matter, he questioned why the government was silent on release of political leaders, withdrawal of Indian forces from Indian Occupied Kashmir and why it was shy of internationalizing the issue.

He emphasized, “Pakistan should talk frankly with its Muslim allies, particularly states like Saudi Arabia and UAE, which had massive business interests with India that we don’t want to dictate their national priorities. But surely the right of self-determination of a Muslim people, who are facing an abuse of their human rights is a question that should haunt the Muslim Ummah”.

Rabbani also recommended that Pakistan should call on OIC to exert collective pressure on India to end the lockdown that enters now 101 day and let a team of observers to assess the on ground situation in IOK and if OIC failed to respond then Pakistan should unilaterally suspend its membership of the organistion.