Kashmir crisis: APHC local chapter kept out of the loop

Group’s chief says govt’s Kashmir policy appears to be on ‘default mode

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may well have moved to take up the issue of increasing Indian atrocities in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). However, the Pakistan-based leadership from the occupied valley has been kept out of the loop.

PM Nawaz is chairing a special cabinet meeting on Friday (tomorrow) in Lahore to discuss the rapidly deteriorating situation in the disputed Himalayan valley where around 32 people have died in violent protests triggered after the killing of an iconic militant commander, Burhan Wani.

However, the leadership of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) based in Rawalpindi has not been taken onboard.  Hurriyat representatives have also been ignored in official meet-ups on IOK situation and related activities.

“It looks like the government’s Kashmir policy is running on default mode,” said APHC Pakistan chapter chief Syed Yousuf Naseem while talking to The Express Tribune.

“On the one hand, the innocent are being slaughtered in Kashmir and on the other hand, the Pakistani government is yet to act in unison against the unabated Indian aggression,” he added.

Naseem appreciated, however, Premier Nawaz’s initiative to convene a special cabinet meeting on Kashmir situation and the AJK premier’s announcement to observe July 15 as Black Day. Yet, he demanded that special session of parliament be convened to highlight the issue.

“Parliament is the supreme legislative organ. The AJK Legislative Assembly is non-functional till the formation of new government following upcoming general elections on July 21. So it’s all about Pakistani Parliament.

“Any joint resolution in condemnation of the boundless Indian tyranny in IOK would convey a strong message that the people of Pakistan and their elected representatives stand by the people of Kashmir in this hour of grief.”

Recently, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani joined condemnations against the Indian aggression in Kashmir. In addition, some PPP legislators submitted an adjournment motion in the National Assembly Secretariat for discussion on the IOK situation besides condemning the Indian brutality.

“These moves are very welcoming. They give a strong message that Pakistani parliamentarians are not oblivious to the plight of Kashmiris.  Still, a strong message from the collective platform of parliament—both Senate and NA— needs to be relayed to sensitise the international community that it is time to wake up and respond to the plight of Kashmiris,” he added.

The top APHC leader also slammed the United Nations for failing to play any active role on getting its resolutions implemented regarding the right of self-determination to the people of IOK.

“So much blood has been spilled in the recent spree of state sponsored terrorism in IOK but the UN is keeping criminal silence. The UN offices in Pakistan are yet to utter a single word on this height of brutality.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2016.