Senate defence body proposes gallantry award for Flying Officer Marium Shaheed

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Defence Committee met here on Friday unanimously passed a resolution proposing a Gallantry Award for Flt. Lt. Marium Mukhtiar Shaheed, who is the first female pilot in the Muslim world to embrace martyrdom in the line of duty.
The resolution termed Flt. Lt. Marium Mukhtiar Shaheed, who embraced martyrdom on November 24 as a “role model for youth and women of Pakistan”.
The meeting of the Committee under the chairmanship of Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed was also briefed on the security situation both on the Eastern and Western borders. To date, in 2015, Indian troops have committed 247 ceasefire violations, 163 along the Line of Control and 84 along the Working Boundary and due to Indian firing, 39 civilians embraced Shahadat and 150 civilians were injured.
The Ministry of Defence, which was represented by Secretary Defence Lt. Gen. (R) Alam Khattak, as well as Additional Secretary, Vice Admiral Mukhtar, apprised the Senate Defence Committee that since the election of Indian Prime Minister Modi in 2015, relations between Pakistan and India have worsened because of Indian wilful violation of the ceasefire agreed to between the two countries in 2003.
The meeting was informed that although, every Tuesday, the Directors General Military Operation (DGMO) of both countries speak on the hotline, the ceasefire violations by India have raised tensions.
Regarding Western border with Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence mentioned that till date there have been 132 cross-border violations from the Afghan side.
The Senate Defence Committee was also briefed about provision of full and comprehensive compensation to the next of kins of shuhada of tragic Army Public School (APS) incident.
The briefing was given in pursuant to a public petition sent to the Senate Defence Committee by a relative of the victims of the APS massacre.
The officials of the Ministry of Defence briefed the Committee that three kinds of compensation packages have been approved and completed including one each from the Federal Government, the Pakistan Army and the Provincial Government of KP.
The Federal Government has provided Rs183 million to the next of kin of the Shuhada including a lump-sum grant of Rs3 million as monetary compensation, an education grant for children’s study for the next 10 years and a housing construction grant of Rs5 million per person.
The committee was informed that the Pakistan Army also arranged Umrah for the next of kin to 147 persons, free education to civilian kin of the shaheed students, as well as jobs for the next of kin relatives plus admission in Cadet Colleges for the injured students well as visits to friendly countries like China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Oman, Tajikistan and USA.
The provincial government of KP also provided a compensation and assistance package amounting to Rs411 million which includes Rs2 million to each of the Shuhada and Gallantry Awards to all the Shuhada as well as compensation to those who were injured. All the 122 Shuhada will have government schools named for each of them in all the provinces of Pakistan.
The Senate Defence Committee appreciated the thoroughness and the detail with which compensation had been provided and expressed satisfaction with the process which had initiated and successfully completed by the Ministry of Defence.
The meeting was attended by Senator Lt. Gen. (R) Salahuddin Tirmizi, Senator Lt. Gen. (R) Abdul Qayyum, Senator Javed Abbasi, Senator Maulana Attaur Rehman, Senator Farhatullah Babar, Senator Brig. (R) John Kennith Williams and Senator Ilyas Bilour.