India threat to regional peace: PM Imran Khan

BEIJING: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that India’s aggressive attitude is a threat to regional peace. He said that the world could not afford another cold war.

The prime minister met the heads and representatives of leading Chinese think tanks, universities and Pakistan Study Centre. He also thanked China for its unwavering support to the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIJO&K) dispute, emphasising the importance of Pak-China relations and ensuring regional stability and prosperity.

The importance of Pak-China relations in ensuring regional stability and prosperity was also discussed during the meeting. PM Imran said that the present Indian regime is causing long-lasting instability in the region. “The atrocities of India are continuing in IIOJ&K. The world should pay attention to the ongoing atrocities of India against Kashmiris,” he maintained.

The prime minister described President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative as important for the development of the region and said that the first phase of CPEC was focused on infrastructure development and connectivity.

He further said that cooperation ensuring peace and security in Afghanistan is in the mutual interest of Pakistan and China. The international community should not leave Afghans alone in this difficult time, he emphasised.

With Kashmir Solidarity Day being observed in Kashmir, Pakistan and across the world, the Senate on Friday reiterated complete solidarity with the Kashmiris and, through a unanimous resolution, demanded Indian PM Modi and the fascist organisation RSS must be held accountable for their crimes against humanity and unspeakable atrocities on the people of Indian-Illegally Occupied Kashmir.

The House under the chair of Senator Krishna Kumari suspended the Question-Hour and devoted the full sitting to the Kashmir issue on the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day, which is observed every year on Feb 5. The resolution reads: "The House resolutely rejects the Indian illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019 and demands the government of India to reverse and revoke the illegal and unilateral steps of Aug 5, 2019, which are a gross violation of all UN Resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.

"The Senate of Pakistan reflecting the sentiments of the people of Pakistan salutes the heroism and valour of the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir on this day of solidarity with the Kashmir people and firmly condemns the unabated Indian human rights violations, war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law in the IIOJ&K. Ever since Aug 5 2019, hundreds of innocent Kashmiris have been martyred, arbitrarily arrested or rounded up under trumped-up charges," it says.

"The resolution warns 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;

"Demands that Prime Minister Modi and RSS fascist organisation, who have unleashed a reign of terror on the defenseless people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJ&K) and have been involved in unspeakable atrocities, be held accountable for their crimes against humanity.

"Calls upon the government of India to stop extrajudicial killings of Kashmiri youth in fake encounters and cordon and search operations; "Denounces the illegal Indian measures to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory and the efforts to peddle a facade of normalcy and demands immediate release of all political prisoners in IIOJ&K;

"Demands that the international community take note of India's belligerence, intransigence and brazen persistence of cruelty against the Kashmiri people, including the danger of genocide which is now documented internationally," it notes.

"The resolution expects that the international community takes cognizance and action against India's gross and widespread human rights violations in IIJO&K as well as its open repudiation of UN resolutions; reassures our Kashmiri brothers and sisters that the people, the government and the Parliament of Pakistan will always stand firm with their Kashimiri brothers and sisters in their just struggle until the resolution of this dispute according to the wishes of the Kashmiri people and as per the relevant UNSC resolutions, and 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."

During the discussion on Kashmir problem, Dalit Senator Keshoo Bai also presided over the proceedings for quite some time and was welcomed by the legislators from both sides of the aisle by thumping of desks.

Ex-chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani regretted that the world community and the world bodies, including the United Nations and UN bodies, were silent on the untold Indian atrocities on people of Occupied Kashmir, including children, where rape was being used as a war crime and even the response of OIC was not enough.

He pointed out keeping in view the new situation emerging in the region, where the US was trying to make India the region’s policeman to contain China and under this containment policy, India was at full liberty to resort to whatever it wanted.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said that there was unity on the national strategic objective of Kashmir, nuclear programme and CPEC and lauded the discussion on the Kashmir issue. He quoted an Indian writer, who wrote in the New York Times, "In today’s India, RSS is the state and an architecture of fascism is being erected" while referring to August 05, 2019 events. He also quoted a testimony, which chairman of Genocide Watch Dr. Gregory Stanton, gave before the US Congress last month and said, "In India, there are the makings of genocide, starting with Kashmir and Assam against the Muslims." Senator Mushahid urged the government to take note of it. He called on the civilian and military establishment to have a clear India policy. He also wanted that the RSS be tried for war crimes when already there were people like Dr. Stanton. The face of pluralist, secular and inclusive India, he noted, had been exposed.

Dr Shahzad Waseem said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had effectively exposed India's crooked face before the world and the international community had taken note of that, and the United Nations' secretary general and the UN General Assembly president had also talked about the Kashmiris' right to self-determination. Senator Tahir Bizenjo lamented and asked why only China out of five veto power countries was with Pakistan and Kashmir and said one big reason of the other four countries having a tilt towards India was its massive market and global trade stakes.

Leader of the Opposition, Yusuf Raza Gilani, who opened the discussion, strongly condemned the ongoing barbarism in Kashmir and demanded of India to withdraw its decision of August 5, 2019 to normalize relations with Pakistan.

Azam Nazeer Tarar of the PML-N said that in the modern day world, issues were being resolved through effective and powerful diplomacy instead of using bullets, guns and tanks and wondered if we had effectively pushed forward our foreign policy after the August 05 events.

The chair said a copy of the resolution, signed by the chairman of the Senate, will be sent to presiding officers of the world parliaments and the secretary-general of the United Nations. JI Senator Mushtaq Ahmad said that developments like filing of an FIR in London against Indian Army chief and the home minister needed to be highlighted.