Kashmir is the unfinished agenda of Partition, says PM Sharif

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Friday convened a meeting of the federal cabinet to oversee the situation in Indian-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and ceasefire violations by India on the LoC.

Sharif said that Kashmir is the unfinished agenda of Partition which cannot be wished away,  and the Indian atrocities cannot suppress the passions of the Kashmiri people.

He said that the entire nation is standing shoulder to shoulder with our armed forces. The Indian aggression poses a serious threat to the regional peace and security, but the government and people of Pakistan are united in their resolve to counter any aggressive Indian designs.

The Cabinet joined the Prime Minister in completely rejecting the Indian claims of carrying out ‘surgical strikes’. The Indian forces had resorted to unprovoked firing on the LoC in complete violation of India’s commitments under bilateral arrangements and international law.

The Cabinet praised the brave and valiant soldiers of the armed forces for their befitting response to the Indian aggression, and offered condolence and sympathies to the aggrieved families.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN INDIAN-OCCUPIED KASHMIR

They expressed deep concern over the continued killings and grave human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Kashmir where more than 110 people have lost their lives, and appreciated the courage, valour and commitment of the Kashmiri people who continue their just struggle for the realization of the right to self-determination, in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions.

The Cabinet reiterated Pakistan’s call for free, fair and impartial investigation into the killings of innocent civilians, under the auspices of the UN, and called upon the international community to take notice of the massive human rights violations. It welcomed the decision of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to send a fact finding mission to the Kashmir.

It expressed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to provide political, moral and diplomatic support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and reiterated to continue to highlight Indian brutalities, excesses and state sponsored terrorism at the international level.

It deplored the provocative statements of the Indian leadership alleging Pakistan involvement for the Uri attack, without any evidence and rejected all accusation. The statements and actions by India are aimed to deflect the attention of the international community from Kashmir.

Prime Minister reaffirmed that Pakistan’s commitment for peace must not be construed as weakness, and that it will take all necessary steps to protect its people and territorial integrity in case of any aggression or violation of LoC.

He said that we wanted to focus our energies for the betterment and welfare of our people, and the development of our country. He said that his government was committed to eliminating poverty and unemployment, for which peace is necessary.

The Federal Cabinet considered and accorded approval to the following:

1. Ban on Import of Flavored/non-Flavored Sheesha (Tobacco and Tobacco Free) and related Substance in Compliance with order passed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
2. Prime Minister’s Global Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Programme.
3. Proposed Legislation/Draft Bill for Regulation of the Benami Transactions.
4. Exemption from Levy of CVT on Immovable Property Transferred to and from the Third Pakistan International Sukuk Company Limited.

The Federal Cabinet considered and accorded approval to the following MOUs and Agreements:

1. Inter-government Framework Agreement Signed between Government of China and Pakistan for Financing of Metro Rail Transit System on the Orange Line in Lahore.
2. Approval for signing of memorandum of Understanding/Agreements between Pakistani and Belarusian Educational Institutions.
3. Approval for signing of Agreement on Collaboration on the Establishment of Urdu and Belarusian Language Chairs (Centers) between the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad, Pakistan and Minsk State Linguistic University (MSLU), Minsk, Belarus.
4. Approval for signing of Agreement between Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on Mutual Recognition of Educational Certificates.
5. Approval for signing of MoU for Cooperation in the field of Vocational Education between the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
6. Ex-post Facto approval for Initiation of Negotiations and approval for Signing of Agreement on Air Services between Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Belarus.
7. Approval for signing of MoU for Cooperation in the Sphere of Postal Services between Pakistan and Belarus
8. Approval for Initiation of Negotiations for signing of MoU between State Bank of Pakistan and the National Bank of Belarus (NBB-The Central Bank of Belarus).
9. Memorandum of Cooperation between Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and National Centre of Marketing & Price Study (NCMPC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.
10. Approval in Principle to Amend the Convention between Pakistan and Belarus for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income.
11. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) of Pakistan and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Japan in the Field of Anti Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT).
12. Approval for signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and PT KOPELINDO of Indonesia
13. Approval for signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Office of the Auditor General of Pakistan and the Turkish Court of Accounts (TCA) on Auditing in Public Sector
14. Approval to commence negotiations on Protocol on Bilateral Consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania
15. Approval for signing of MoU between Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority of Industries & Production Division Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Small and Medium Enterprise Development Organization of Republic of Turkey
16. Constituency Agreement for Board of Directors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
17. Approval for signing of Exchange of Notes/Loan Agreement of Polio Eradication Project (Phase-II) between Government of Pakistan and Government of Japan/JICA
18. Approval for signing of Agreement on Economic Cooperation between Pakistan and Hungary
19. Ex-post facto approval of the signing of Warsak Rehabilitation Project Financing Agreement between Government of Pakistan and Germany (KFW, AFD, EIB)
20. Ex-post facto approval for signing of MoU on Cooperation in the field of Small and Medium Enterprises Development between Small and Medium Enterprises Development authority (SMEDA) Pakistan and Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA) Bulgaria.

The Federal Cabinet also took note of the measures taken by the Finance Division to Curb Terrorism Financing National Action Plan).

The Federal Cabinet also confirmed the following decisions:

1. Confirmation of Decisions taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet in its meetings on 23rd September & 26th September, 2016.
2. Confirmation of the Decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCE) dated 30.08.2016 and 15.09.2016.
3. Confirmation of Decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC) dated 31st August, 2016.
4. Confirmation of the Decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP) in its Meetings held on 15-09-2014, 5-11-2014 and 8-11-2014