Senate resolution condemns Indian brutalities in Kashmir

Chairman Rabbani seeks interior minister’s reply over repatriation of Pak-Turk Schools’ teachers

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Friday commemorated the Black Day and unanimously passed a resolution condemning the brutalities by Indian forces against the people of Kashmir.

The Senate also deplored the continuing silence of the international community towards the atrocities being committed by the Indian forces in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK).

“The Senate reiterates the stance of Hurriyat leadership that any attempt to [initiate] dialogue without engaging Pakistan is not only against international resolutions of [the] United Nations, but reflects India’s continued selfishness, insincerity and blatant disregard of international principles of self-determinations,” reads the resolution.



Since 2016, Indian forces have been killing innocent Kashimirs, blinding women and children with pellet guns, along with abduction and torture.

The Senate further said the Indian government’s continuing inhumane attitude was exposed during the most recent announcement of Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who named a new interlocutor with a so-called mandate to consult all local Kashmiri organisations seeking right to self-determination.

This was done as a mere eyewash to divert the attention of the international community and the human rights organisations away from the IOK issue a week before arrival of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in New Delhi.

Hurriyat leadership has rejected this so-called dialogue offer and Pakistan supports their stance.

The house further said that India which boasts itself largest democracy of the world is in violation of democratic values and principles given its denial of the most fundamental human rights of the people of Kashmir.

“The Senate of Pakistan further calls upon international community to force India to stop violations of human rights in IOK,” stated the resolution.

The Senate voted to extend political, moral and diplomatic support to the people of IOK in line with the UN resolution.

On the issue of Turkish teachers, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani ruled that observations made by a senator regarding the repatriation of teachers of Turkish Schools in Pakistan together with their families be provided to the interior minister so that he could give a policy statement over the matter.

The issue of Turkish teachers was raised in the house by PPP’s Farhatullah Babar who said that around 300 Turkish nationals in Pakistan were facing grave human rights abuses in the form of arbitrary arrests and forced repatriation to their homeland which was a sheer violation of various international covenants of human rights which Pakistan was supposed to abide by.

Babar further said Turkey and Pakistan enjoyed a great friendship, but warned against Pakistan becoming a party to internal domestic political infighting in Turkey.

“We must not forget how we burnt our fingers by meddling in the internal affairs of other countries,” the senator added.



He said last month the former head of the Pak-Turk Schools in Pakistan was first abducted along with his family and then forcibly repatriated. This forced repatriation was made through a Turkish police contingent that had flown to Pakistan by a special Turkish plane.

He asked whether Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif was in charge of the policy and said that during Asif’s visit to the US earlier this month, he had assured that there would be no repatriations as long as the Turkish teachers had stay orders from the courts and possessed asylum-seeker certificates of the UNHCR.

He said the situation had become far more disturbing during the past months as some Turkish families had new born babies who were without passports, while the passports of some Turkish nationals had expired and the citizenship of others had been revoked by the Turkish government.

Earlier, during the question hour, Rabbani took strong exception to the disclosure that the house had been misled by a minister to justify absence of another minister a day before and warned that he would act against the ministers for not turning up when items concerning them were on the agenda.

The remarks came when minister of state for ports and shipping responded to a question on behalf of Energy Minister Jam Kamal.

“Where is the minister concerned?” Rabbani asked and pointed out that Safron Minister General Abdul Qadir had earlier replied on behalf of the minister for religious affairs.

He noted that the ministers who were not ready to give replies to the questions of their respective ministries should resign. “Why they are affecting parliament. This is Senate and not a Rajwara [town development committee],” he remarked.

He said the power minister was not available to respond to a calling attention notice the other day and it had to be put off for a day. “The house cannot run like this,” the chairman said.

From now on, he said, he would act against such ministers under Rule 13 and bar them from attending house proceedings for a specified time period.