ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan called the parliamentary committee on Kashmir a complete “failure” and has challenged the credentials of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman as head of the committee.

“He [Maulana Fazl] has grabbed the chairmanship of the Kashmir committee only to enjoy perks, privileges and going on a world tour on government expenses,” the PTI chairman said, in an exclusive interview to a Srinagar-based magazine Kashmir Narrator, excerpts of which were released to media by the party’s central media office on Tuesday.

Mr Khan claimed that keeping in view the credibility of the JUI-F chief, a number of European countries didn’t even issue visas to him. On the other hand, he alleged that the National Assembly speaker was not ready to disclose the expenditures being incurred on the parliamentary Kashmir committee.

Responding to the PTI chief’s criticism, JUI-F’s information secretary Hafiz Hussain Ahmed said that before questioning the performance of others, Mr Khan should first tell the nation as to how many parliamentary sessions he had attended while drawing a salary since his election in 2013.

Mr Ahmed said that the PTI chief should know that the parliamentary committee on Kashmir had members from other parties as well and could not suggest anything that would go against government policies.

JUI-F questions PTI chief’s own performance in parliament

“Imran Khan should know that when you raise one finger at others, the four others point towards you,” the JUI-F leader said.

In his interview with the Kashmir Narrator, the PTI chief also criticised the government for “having no specific strategy” to handle the Kashmir issue. He alleged that ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif had caused “irreparable damage” to the Kashmir cause. He claimed that when Mr Sharif attended the oath-taking ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he had refused to meet the Hurriyat leaders from India-held Kashmir.

“He did this because he was busy meeting his Indian business counterparts to talk business, not reaffirm Pakistan’s position on Kashmir. He put his business interests before the country’s interests and the Kashmiris’ struggle for self-determination,” the PTI chief alleged.

According to the excerpts of the interview conducted at Mr Khan’s Banigala residence and posted on the magazine’s official website, the PTI chief also blamed former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf for causing “great damage” to the Kashmir issue by declaring the UN resolutions on Kashmir outdated.

The UN resolutions continued to be of central relevance as they reaffirmed the legitimacy of the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, he said. “The UN resolutions, therefore, continue to have a central legitimacy and are critical to resolving the conflict.”

Mr Khan said that no civilian or military leader in Pakistan was against having peaceful relations with India. However, he added that peace could not be restored and cordial relations could not be established on gunpoint.

He was of the view that a durable peace could only be established through resolution of the conflicts and the solution to the Kashmir issue was a must for ensuring peace in the region as it played a pivotal role in determining the nature of relationship between India and Pakistan.

The cricketer-turned-politician said that like East Timor, the Kashmir issue should also be resolved in the light of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

Mr Khan said that his party had a clear stance on Kashmir and if it came to power in the upcoming general elections, it will put forward “ground-breaking” proposals for resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN resolutions.

“My party is already working on these [proposals]. Our Kashmir policy will be substantive and not restricted to declaratory platitudes,” he said.

The PTI chief accused the current Indian government of committing human rights violations and usurping the rights of Kashmiri people through the use of force.

He said the PTI would continue to raise its voice against the Indian occupation.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2018