ISLAMABAD    -  The Senate on Friday passed a joint resolution unanimously to express solidarity with Kashmiris on the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day (February 5) in a special session chaired by a Hindu senator. 

The resolution was moved by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan after the lawmakers from treasury and opposition benches demanded from India to reverse its August 5, 2019 illegal actions in Occupied Kashmir and stop changing the demographic character of the troubled territory. 

The session was specially called on single-point agenda to discuss the current situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day that is being observed today (February 5) across the country.   

During the sitting, Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani invited PPP Senator Keshoo Bai, also known as Krishna Kumari Kohli, during speeches to chair the session for some time amid loud thumping of desks as she sat on the chair’s seat. 

“I want to give a message to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi that this is the face of Pakistan that a session on Kashmir situation is being presided over by a Hindu member,” she said soon after taking over the chair. “This is a slap on the face of (PM) Modi.” 

Later on Twitter, Senator Keshoo also said that it was a great honour for her that she chaired the session and thanked her party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for giving her an opportunity to become a member of the Upper House of the Parliament. 

Senator Keshoo became the first Hindu Dalit woman to be elected to the Senate in 2018 on a reserved seat. She belongs to Tharparkar area of Sindh and was an activist before joining politics. 

The resolution, signed by all political parties of both sides of aisle, resolutely rejected the Indian illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019 in occupied Kashmir and demanded to revoke the steps “which are a gross violation of all UN resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.” 

The house condemned the “unabated” Indian human rights violations, war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law in the IIOJK. “Ever since August 5, 2019, hundreds of innocent Kashmiris have been martyred, arbitrarily arrested or rounded up under trumped-up charges.” 

The house warned India that even the worst form of state-terrorism will not break the will of the Kashmiri people or crush their legitimate struggle, “which is popular, spontaneous, widespread and indigenous.” 

The resolution demanded that “Indian Prime Minister Modi and his RSS fascist organisation, who have unleashed a reign of terror on the defenceless people of IIOJK and have been involved in unspeakable atrocities, be held accountable for their crimes against humanity.” 

The house called upon the government of India to stop extrajudicial killings of Kashmiri youth in fake encounters and cordon and search operations. 

It also denounced the illegal Indian measures to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory and demanded immediate release of all political prisoners in IIOJK. 

It demanded the international community to “take note of India’s belligerence, and brazen persistence of cruelty against the Kashmiri people, including the danger of genocide which is now documented internationally.” 

It reassured the Kashmiri people that the Parliament, government and people of Pakistan will always stand firm with them in their just struggle until the resolution of this dispute according to their wishes and as per the relevant UN Security Council resolution. 

“The Senate of Pakistan reiterates its support to the people of Kashmir in the just struggle for their inalienable right to self-determination every step of the way,” concluded the resolution. 

Earlier, Leader of the Opposition in the House Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani speaking on the issue said that peace couldn’t be attained in South Asia unless Kashmir issue is resolved according to the wishes of the people of Kashmir. “It is imperative for the Indian government to reverse its August 5 decisions, release political prisoners, lift curfew… restore Kashmir related confidence building measures (CBMs),” he said adding that this was a pre-requisite to bring normalcy in Pak-India relations. 

Leader of the House Dr Shahzad Waseem in his speech called August 5 as black day and denounced India for issuing around 4.2 million illegal domicile certificates in occupied Kashmir to change its demography. He argued that PM Modi should be tried in the International Court of Justice for his alleged war crimes. 

The Parliamentary Leader of PML-N in the House Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar urged the need to go for parliamentary diplomacy and said that parliamentary delegations comprising of both treasury and opposition benches should be dispatched to take up this matter with parliamentary leadership of different countries and regional organisations. 

JUI-F Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haider criticised the PTI government for adopting a weak policy on Kashmir and accused it what he said that “PTI government made a deal (with India) on Kashmir and “sold out the people of Kashmir.” Senator Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhary in his response came down hard on the JUI-F lawmaker for making “baseless accusations” and said his party leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman remained chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir but his performance remained abysmal.