ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly and the Senate on Wednesday adopted resolutions condemning human rights violations in India-held Kashmir and calling for the implementation of the United Nations resolutions to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

The resolution in the National Assembly was moved by the Kashmir parliamentary committee chairman Maulana Fazlur Rahman, while in the Senate it was moveda by veteran parliamentarian M. Hamza.

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The resolutions called for a settlement of dispute because durable peace in the region was linked to the resolution of the dispute. The resolution passed by the National Assembly expressed solidarity with the Kashmiri people and urged the international community to help resolve the lingering dispute between India and Pakistan.

The resolution warned India against taking steps to change the disputed status of held Kashmir and alter the region’s demography by farcical means before plebiscite.

It noted that the brave people of Kashmir were continuing their just struggle despite the presence of around 700,000 Indian soldiers in the valley.

The house also condemned the recent unprovoked firing on the Line of Control and the Working Boundary.

It urged the international community to investigate incidents of human rights violations, such as disappearances of Kashmiri youth and called upon the Indian government to allow human rights observers to visit the occupied valley.

The resolution reiterated Pakistan’s political, moral and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people, saying that the dispute should be resolved through a fair and transparent plebiscite.

The resolution unanimously adopted by the Senate pledged to continue extending political, moral and diplomatic support to the valiant struggle of the people of Kashmir.

The resolution reiterated the country’s principled position on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. The Senate termed the Kashmir dispute central to Pak-India relations and observed that it held the key to peace in South Asia.

The resolution said Pakistan’s stance was based on numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions, which provide for the final disposition of the issue in accordance with the will of the people determined through a free, fair and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices.

The Senate paid tribute to the martyrs who had laid down their lives for the cause of freedom from Indian oppression and commended courageous Kashmiris for their steadfastness in the struggle under the worst form of oppression.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2015

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