Joint sitting expresses solidarity with Kashmiris

Parliament passes Islamabad Local Government Bill

ISLAMABAD:

The joint session of parliament on Wednesday passed a resolution, expressing solidarity with the oppressed Kashmiri people.

The resolution said that Pakistan strongly condemns the extrajudicial killings and brutality in Jammu and Kashmir under illegal occupation by India and that is no alternative to the right to self-determination.

The joint session held under the chairmanship of Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf started late.

The House unanimously passed a resolution expressing solidarity with Kashmiris and against Indian atrocities.

The resolution was presented in the House by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi on behalf of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

On this occasion, Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry, Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas Khan, and other members of cabinet and legislative assembly were also present.

The unanimous resolution said that the Kashmiri people fought a fair struggle for self-determination.

The Jammu and Kashmir conflict is one of the longest-standing international conflicts on the agenda of the United Nations, it noted. It reaffirmed diplomatic and political support and rejected India's unilateral and illegal actions since 5 August 2019.

Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan said that Pakistan has to adopt a plan of action for the Kashmir cause beyond moral and diplomatic support.

During the session, the the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was passed as well. The bill was presented by the law minister, and after its passage, the mayor and deputy mayor of Islamabad will not be elected directly by the people's votes, but the successful chairman of the Union Councils (UCs) will do it. Moreover, Islamabad will now have 125 UCs instead of 101. The joint session has been adjourned till February 13.

Apart from the prime minister, foreign minister, defence minister, former president Asif Ali Zardari, and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi were absent from the important joint meeting.

A lack of seriousness was observed as federal ministers and members continued to gossip in the back seats. Federal Railways Minister Saad Rafique, Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Moeen Wattoo, and others kept talking to each other.

The quorum was barely complete in the joint sitting.