ISLAMABAD: The upper house of the Parliament convened a special session on Friday, to commemorate Kashmir Solidarity Day. Senator Krishna Kumari Kohli chaired it and after a long debate, the upper house of parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on India to halt the unlawful changes to the demographics of Indian-occupied Kashmir, which is home to a majority Muslim.
“Modi hasn’t received a heavier smack in the face than this,” stated Sen. Kesho Bai (Krishnakumari Kohli). The senator from Tharparkar was summoned to lead the session by Senate Chair Sadiq Sanjarani amid discussions on Kashmir.
After taking over as Senate chair, she was met with cheers and desk-thumping by her fellow senators. Dr Babar Awan, the head of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), took a moment to thank Senator Kohli as she took her place at the podium.
“This is the actual face of Pakistan, which has permitted a Hindu member to preside over the Senate session,” Senator Kohli remarked in her brief remarks.
As she put it, “We don’t want Modi to think he can get away with anything anymore. We won’t put up with him.”
“It is tremendous honour [that] I chaired the Senate session summoned to review the present situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK),” Senator Kohli, who was elected in 2018 to an open seat on a PPP platform, tweeted.
Adoption of a Resolution
The House rejected India’s “illegal and unilateral action” on August 5, 2019, with an overwhelming majority. A resolution was adopted that urged India to retract its actions and called India’s actions a “gross breach of all UN resolutions on Kashmir.”
Human rights abuses by the Indian military in IIOJK, including genocide, ethnic cleansing, and other crimes against humanity, were also denounced. Kashmiri civilians have been killed, unjustly arrested, or locked up on false charges since Aug. 5, according to the resolution.
Senate also celebrated the will and resistance of Kashmiri’s, stating that even the worst state-sponsored terrorism by India will not break the spirit of Kashmiris or crush their rightful resistance.
The Upper House of Parliament demanded that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his “fascist RSS organisation” be held accountable for their crimes against humanity and called on the Indian government to stop extra-judicial killings of Kashmiris in fake encounters and cordon-and-search operations.
India’s efforts to illegally change the occupied territories’ demographic composition, as well as “efforts to sell a veneer of normality,” were also criticised. Senate also stressed that the IIOJK’s political prisoners should be released immediately.
Indian belligerence and intransigence toward the Kashmiri people, as well as the threat of genocide that other countries have also recorded, were also brought up by senators.
Kashmiris were reassured that Pakistan’s government, people, and parliament will always support them in their righteous fight until it is resolved according to their aspirations and as per applicable UN Security Council resolutions.
In the resolution, Pakistan’s Senate reaffirmed its support for Kashmir’s people in their “just fight for their fundamental right to self-determination at every stage.”
A signed copy of the resolution was sent by Senate Chair Sadiq Sanjarani to various international leaders and the UN secretary-general.
