NA told civil, mily leadership one on Kashmir, Palestine

ISLAMABAD: As the opposition members strongly criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s Kashmir policy, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Andleeb Abbas told the National Assembly that the Pakistan government, military leadership and the federal cabinet were on one page on Kashmir and Palestine issues.

She was responding to a calling attention, raised by the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) parliamentarians, pertaining to any action taken by Pakistan to stop Indian atrocities in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K). PML-N leaders including Ahsan Iqbal, Khurram Dastgir Khan, Marriyum Aurangzeb and Chaudhry Birjees Tahir criticised the government inaction on IIOJ&K and Palestine.

Khurram Dastgir, while raising a question, said there were reports that Pakistan military leadership told some journalists that they were going to start talks with India by December 2021. He said the media persons were also told that the National Security Advisor and the ISI chief would represent the country. On the other hand, he said Prime Minister Imran Khan was saying there would be no talks with India till it takes back its August 5, 2019 action of annexation of India. “Why there is contradiction on the Kashmir policy,” he asked. The parliamentary secretary said the government, military leadership, foreign minister and the cabinet all were on one page when it comes to national interests, whether it is Kashmir or Palestine.

She said the PM had already made it clear that there could be no talks with India till it withdraws annexation of occupied Kashmir. “That is what the military feels and that is what every Pakistanis feels,” the secretary said. Responding to concerns of Ahsan Iqbal, the parliamentary secretary said the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) had discussed the Kashmir and Palestine issue. She informed the House that Kashmir policy followed by Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government totally changed narrative of the international community on the issue. “Now the world considers India as a terrorist and Pakistan as a peace-loving country and a facilitator for talks,” she said.

She said that for the first time in history, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) took up Kashmir issue in the last less than three years. Ahsan Iqbal, who was not satisfied with the parliamentary secretary’s statement, said that which factors encouraged India in 2019 to annex Kashmir, a step which it could not dare to take in the last 72 years. “What weaknesses Pakistan showed which encouraged India to take the extreme step,” he said. The PML-N leader also questioned as to why Pakistan government could not implement a resolution of the House, passed one-and-a-half years back which called for holding special session of the OIC on Kashmir. He said the government had handed over Kashmir issue to “NATO” which stands for “No action, talks only”, and only a timer was placed in front of a hotel in Islamabad.

The parliamentary secretary asked as to why the governments in the past 10 to 15 years could not act against the international propaganda when Pakistan was being dubbed as a supporter of militancy in Kashmir. “As to why then governments did not take any action when an international narrative was being built against Pakistan with reference to Kashmir issue,” Andleeb Abbas said. She also questioned as to why then the prime minister not met the Kashmiri leadership on eve of Prime Minister Modi’s inauguration and ignored them. “This is for the first time that Prime Minister Imran Khan exposed face of India and Modi and it was also for the first time that the US accepted Kashmir as an international issue,” she said. Marriyum Aurangzeb was also not satisfied with the response of the government. She said the foreign minister should have come to take the calling attention notice. She said when Prime Minister Imran Khan would unveil his government’s Kashmir policy on the floor of the National Assembly. In response, the parliamentary secretary said why Prime Minister Modi was invited to attend the wedding ceremony in the family of then prime minister in Lahore.

The House also allowed extension in Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 which was going to expire on June 11, 2021. Ahsan Iqbal opposed extension in the ordinance, and pointed out that Article 73 says that the Money Bill should originate in the National Assembly. He said the speaker had stated that he would seek legal opinion on the issue. He said the opposition had already expressed its fears that one day the government would not feel need for a budget session, and it would be passed through an ordinance. He said the government was making substantial changes to Income Tax Act 2001, Sales Tax Act 1990, Customs Act 1969 and Federal Excise Tax 2009 through ordinances and many facilities were being withdrawn. Ahsan Iqbal said as per estimates, the government is imposing Rs700 billion taxes through these ordinances. He said that powers given to the President to promulgate ordinances under Article 89 apply only when the Parliament is not in session, or there is any emergency in the country. Citing an example, he said an ordinance was promulgated between two sessions of the House when there was no emergency during the month of February, this year. The PML-N leader said the PTI government had allowed air access to the United States for Afghanistan and demanded that conditions reached with the US should be placed before the House.

The National Assembly also passed the PAF Air War College Institute Bill, 2021 which provides for re-organisation of the Institute as degree awarding institute and the Pakistan Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to amend the Pakistan Arms (Amendment) Bill, 1965 to the extent of the Islamabad Capital Territory. The PTI parliamentarian from NA-252 Karachi, Aftab Jahangir, said there were doubts in minds of people that some Qadianis were sitting in the National Assembly in the cover of Muslims. “There is need to remove such doubts,” he said. He said all the parliamentarians should take oath before people that they have faith in Khatam-e-Nabuwwat and that they believe in the Holy Prophet (SAW) as the Last Prophet of Almighty Allah. He said his constituency is the biggest constituency of the Sindh capital but there was sanitation and sewerage system there.