Senate body for UN special commission to investigate India’s ceasefire violations along LoC

ISLAMABAD, Feb 10 (APP):The Senate Standing Committee on Interior Monday underlined the need for the formation of a special commission by the United Nations (UN) to investigate growing ceasefire violations by India along the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary.

“The Indian forces along the LoC and working boundary are continuously targeting civilian populations with artillery fire and automatic weapons, which is highly condemnable and sheer violation of international human rights and the UN laws,” said Senator A. Rehman Malik while chairing the committee here.

The committee chairman asked the government to request the United Nations Secretary General during his upcoming visit to Pakistan to appoint a special commission to investigate all ceasefire violations by India and increase the strength of Military Observers across the LoC.

He also urged the government to raise the case of continuous unprovoked ceasefire violations by India before the UN General Assembly and International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Rehman Malik said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was creating chaos at the LoC to divert world’s attentions from Indian forces’ oppression in Kashmir and from the countrywide protests against discriminatory citizenship law, introduced by the India’s government recently.

Condemning the ongoing Indian forces brutalities against the oppressed Kashmiris and the 190 days longest curfew in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoJK), he said the committee would continue to condemn the curfew by Indian forces in the valley.

The committee members urged the international community to intervene for ending gross human rights violations and humanitarian crisis in Indian occupied Kashmir.

The committee also observed one minute silence for the Chinese victims of Coronavirus and expressed solidarity with the people and government of China.

“We (Pakistanis) express our sorrows over the loss of many lives because of deadly Coronavirus and full solidarity with the people of China”, said Rehman Malik.

He said the Pakistani nation stood by the brave people of China and hoped that they would combat the deadly Coronavirus successfully.

He said the spread of Coronavirus in China had created chaos and fear across the world and Pakistani citizens were equally at risk.

Many Pakistani students stranded in China had contacted him and received many messages on social media from them, demanding their safe return at the earliest, the senator pointed out.

Malik said he had spoken with Chinese Ambassador in Pakistan who assured his full support to the Pakistani students stranded in China.

He directed the Ministry of Interior to establish isolation centres at each Pakistani airport and do screening of all the international passengers for Coronavirus.

He asked the interior ministry that all the airlines should be asked to provide the list of the passengers, their origin of flights with details and all should be screened for coronavirus at their arrival on airports throughout the country.

The Senate Standing Committee on Interior in its meeting unanimously passed ‘The National Counter Terrorism Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2019’ (Ordinance No. VII) after thorough deliberations.

Rehman Malik also took exception over the supply of contaminated water in Islamabad.
He directed the Director PCRWR and the Capital Development Authority to submit a detailed report to the Committee on the quality of water in its next meeting.

The committee chairman directed the Federal Investigation Agency to take stringent action against those involved in looting people through anonymous and fraudulent calls.

The meeting was attended by Senator Kulsoom Parveen, Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi, and Senator Sardar Muhammad Shafiq Tareen and officials from Ministry of Interior, Law and Justice, FIA, PTA and other departments concerned.