Senator Sehar Kamran (TI) brought the Senate attention towards Kashmir dispute which was shockingly sidelined in recent talks between Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ufa, Russia while attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) session.
She said while raising this issue in Senate, another unfortunate incident of unprovoked firing at the Sialkot working border occurred which resulted in loss of two innocent lives and 6 including women and children have been injured. The repeated and blatant violations of Pakistan’s territorial boundaries has witnessed in the form of cross border firing on border military post and poor Pakistani civilians in the Sialkot, Narowal and Kashmir sectors, speaks volumes about Modi government’s non seriousness towards dialogue process.
The appeasing policy of the present government towards India has encouraged them to continue with their policy of aggression. While Indian side mentioned their core issues, a Pakistani point of view on core issues was missing. It seems the government has lost the narrative.
Senator Kamran said the meeting between the Prime Ministers of the two countries was held at the behest of the Indian Prime Minister not ours. Our Prime Minister should have had a better understanding of the contextual environment. She said it was probably for the first time in the history of both countries that joint declaration of talks between the heads of both governments were issued without mentioning the core dispute of Kashmir.
She said the declaration highlighted the need to expedite the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack trial which is an area of Indian interest while Kashmir was sidelined. The foreign policy lapse reflected in the Ufa statement is, unfortunately, not an isolated incident. The joint statement issued in Ufa is the clearest and most recent confirmation of unfortunate reality. Normalisation between Pakistan and India is not possible without equal relationship with clarity, confidence and persistence.
As this august House is aware that founder of Pakistan, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah clearly stated that Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan and United Nations Security Council resolution of January 5, 1949, categorically calls for an open and transparent plebiscite in which Kashmiris will decide their right of self-determination. Former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his Indian government had given the commitment for the same.
Senator Sehar Kamran further said said there have been clear reports of India’s spy agency – Research & Analysis Wing’s (RAW) involvement in whipping up terrorism in Pakistan. In January 2015, Mr. Sartaj Aziz, Advisor to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs himself expressed apprehensions that India was using Afghan soil to carry out terrorist attacks on Pakistan which were also confirmed by our security agencies who have been creating unrest in Balochistan and other tribal areas of the country.
She asked the Minister in this clear case of lack of seriousness on the part of Modi’s government, can our apologetic policy of appeasement as reflected by ignoring Kashmir in latest India-Pakistan declaration, be of any use to enhance the dialogue process?
Furthermore, she stated the followings issues need consideration by the Pak Government:
- Indian support to the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP),
- Inquiry into the Indian establishment’s involvement of Samjhauta Express incident should be demanded by Pakistan as links between Indian Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were revealed,
- Legitimate Kashmiri struggle for self-determination.
Lastly she said, we expect an honorable, strong and dialogue oriented foreign policy by the elected federal government. It is high time that our foreign office should make a clear cut policy in highlighting Kashmir as the top most priority in all such diplomatic efforts.