Both houses of parliament condemn Yasin Malik’s sentence

ISLAMABAD: The joint sitting of both houses of parliament on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the life imprisonment of Kashmiri Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik and expressed solidarity with his family.

The resolution was moved by Human Rights Minister Riaz Hussain Pirzada and had the signatures of the leaders of all the parliamentary parties. Amid the boycott of PTI senators, the government coalition partners criticized the Kashmir policy of Imran Khan’s government, saying that it did nothing for the Kashmir cause in the last four years. The economic policies of the previous government also came under criticism, with demands for placing the agreement with the IMF in the parliament.

Senator Raza Rabbani of the PPP foresaw the emergence of a fourth force in politics and said regulating public meetings and processions was the job of the executive, not the judiciary. 

“The job of the courts is to protect the Constitution of Pakistan and it is the job of the executive to regulate processions,” he said and asked the government to remain firm and not to accept the IMF conditions which were signed by the previous government. The coalition partners of the government stressed reviewing the legislation made for the FATF.

At the start of the session, GDA Parliamentary Leader Ghaus Bukhsh Mehar pointed out the quorum and after the count on the orders of National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf, the house was found in order.

Condemning the sentence given to Yasin Malik, Rabbani said it was unfortunate that India had started another story of oppression in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He said Malik Sahib was convicted after a so-called trial and that the entire Pakistani nation condemned it.

Earlier, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar said he wished that Imran Khan had listened to the appeal of Malik's wife, but unfortunately politics was more important to him. He said the nation was united on the Kashmir issue. He said after the situation created in Pakistan on May 25, the people of Kashmir thought that Pakistan was moving towards anarchy.

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Pakistan stood by the position of Kashmiris. He said he would say with regret Kashmiris had been facing oppression for the last four years, but "we remained engaged in power struggle”. “Yasin Malik was sentenced to life imprisonment. Before that, Afzal Guru was hanged despite the fact that there was no charge against him,” he said, adding that the previous government had announced protests every Friday to support the Kashmiris, but it never happened.

Former prime minister Senator Yusuf Raza Gillani said Wednesday was an important day as Mashaal Malik and her daughter kept asking for help from Pakistani people, but political mayhem remained dominant. He said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto raised their voice for the Kashmiri people at every forum.

Communications Minister Maulana Asad Mehmood said separate resolutions had been passed in the National Assembly and the Senate regarding Yasin Malik to which the nation had a consensus. He said that due to the failed Kashmir policy of the previous government, India today had the courage to take such actions against Kashmiris.

Maritime Affairs Minister Senator Faisal Sabzwari said Yasin Malik was defeating the Indian Army in Kashmir with the peace flag. He said Pakistan was fighting for the cause of Kashmiri people all over the world and would continue to fight. He termed the arrest of Shireen Mazari wrong.

The joint sitting of both houses of parliament condemned the abhorrent attempt of the Indian government to deprive the Kashmiris of their true leadership, terming it a blatant violation of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The resolution stated that this house stressed that the struggle for the right to self-determination in Kashmir was indigenous and could not be dampened by draconian tactics of the Indian government.

The resolution said the parliament resolved that the government of Pakistan should take immediate steps and urge the international community to force India to drop all fabricated charges against the IIOJ&K leaders. After adopting the resolution, the joint sitting of both houses of parliament was adjourned till June 7, 2022.