Senate deplores UN's apathy to stop violence in IHK

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Friday unanimously passed a resolution, deploring human rights violations in the India Held Kashmir (IHK) as well as urging the international community to take notice of atrocities being committed against Kashmiris.

The leader of the House Raja Zafar-ul-Haq moved the resolution, which was unanimously adopted by the house.

Deploring apathy of the United Nations and the international community to stop human rights violations in  India held Kashmir (IHK), Senate chairman Raza Rabbani said they have failed to play their role in resolving the decades-old issue.

He accused the international body of being hypocritical towards issues involving rights for Muslims, saying it does not give them the same importance as it does to those involving Western nations. Such attitude had played havoc on the peaceful movements of Kashmiris and Palestinians, Rabbani added.

The resolution stated that India boasts itself as the largest democracy of the world but denying the most fundamental human rights to the Kashmiri people.

It said Pakistan has always made efforts to hold multilateral and bilateral dialogue with India to resolve the dispute but it continuously rejected such proposals. It said that the UN, human rights organizations and the US administration must understand and fulfill their longstanding commitment to the amicable resolution of Kashmir dispute according to the aspirations of the people of Kashmir.

The Senate was informed on Friday that a comprehensive programme of integration of contemporary and religious studies has been initiated in religious seminaries to make the students of these institutions productive citizens of the country.

Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir told the house during question hour today that the government is disbursing salaries to the teachers of the seminaries who teach English, Maths, Social Studies and General Science.

He said recommendations have been framed to review the curriculum of the seminaries and National Ulema and Mashaikh Council established to check fanatical attitudes and promote interfaith and intersect harmony.

Minister of State for Human Rights Usman Ibrahim said a toll-free helpline 1099 has been established to provide free legal advice and referral services to the victims of human rights violations for proper redressal of their grievances.

Minister of State for Petroleum Jam Kamal Khan told the house that LNG is being imported from Qatar under government to government arrangement.

Chairman Senate admitted an adjournment motion moved by Azam Khan Swati for discussion on financial challenges facing the country.