The Functional Committee on Human Rights on Wednesday commended the efforts of the Pakistani diaspora internationally and said that it had played an important role in pressuring governments to take up the Kashmir issue in their respective parliaments seriously.
The meeting was chaired by Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and was attended by Senator Kesho Bai, Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, Senator Quratul Ain Marri, Senator Kamran Michael, Senator Shaheen Khalid Butt, Senator Jehanzeb Jamaldini and senior officers of the Ministry Foreign Affairs and the Punjab Police.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) informed the committee that it was dealing with the Kashmir issue on three levels and was focusing on legal and political aspect, human rights and peace and security. Amongst the measures taken, it asserted that the Foreign Office has engaged the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) and the international community. The joint statement at the UN Security Council meeting and debate at the EU Parliament were termed a huge success. The statement of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres issued on 8th August, 2019, was heartening; that stressed that this region has been governed by the UN Charter and applicable UN Resolutions and bilateral agreements including the Simla Agreement that calls for trial settlement of the Kashmir issue according to the UN Charter.
The committee stressed that the blatant abuse of human rights in the valley was the only reason that the international community has begun to take notice of the Kashmir issue. It was stressed that MOFA, take the opportunity and ensure that debate is carried on, until a solution is found.
Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar stressed the need to engage international media so that the tale of human rights violations in IHK is told far and wide. This he added will put pressure on world powers. Briefing of Parliamentarians visiting abroad by MOFA was asserted. Moving away from the Simla Agreement and focussing on the human rights aspect of the conflict was recommended. Importance of the Kashmir Cells in all Pakistani Embassies and Consulates was emphasized. It was asserted that it was high time that the government moved beyond just writing letters and focussed on more result-oriented efforts.
While taking up the issue of recent spike of custodial deaths, the Committee was informed that the Punjab Police Department is going through great lengths to ensure perpetrators are taken to task and reforms are made to curb this trend.
The Rawalpindi RPO informed the committee that the department has decided to blacklist officers who use torture during interrogation. Once scarred for using torment as a method to interrogate; officers will be given less important postings, which will affect career growth.
Psychological screening will be conducted on regular basis so that those who show symptoms of mental trauma are not assigned in interrogation cells. A School for Interrogation is being established, so that new means of interrogation are adopted, discarding the old. It was asserted that the mechanism of recovery puts excessive pressure on interrogation officers, and that Parliamentarians must legislate to formulate a system of insurance, when livelihood is threatened.
The committee recommended that Nasir Khan Durrani, retired chief of KP police, be invited in the next meeting so that in loopholes in the system may be identifies and addressed through legislation.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office fired back Wednesday at New Delhi’s “jingoistic rhetoric” after India’s foreign minister vowed to retake Azad Jammu and Kashmir region. “We strongly condemn and reject the inflammatory and irresponsible remarks made by the Indian external affairs minister,” the FO said in a statement.
“Such irresponsible and belligerent statements have the potential to further escalate tensions and seriously jeopardise peace and security in the region,” it added.
The statement came hours after Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told a press conference on Tuesday that AJK is “part of India and we expect one day that we will have the… physical jurisdiction over it”.
