ISLAMABAD: Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz agreed to a proposal floated in the Senate on Thursday for a national policy on India-held Kashmir and said an action plan should also be worked out for making headway towards resolution of the long-standing dispute.

He said the federal cabinet had recently decided to convene a joint session of parliament on Kashmir and its date would be announced in a few days. He endorsed the four-point formula presented by Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Gilani.

Winding up a discussion on an adjournment motion on the recent wave of aggression by Indian forces in held Kashmir, Mr Aziz said the government had decided to approach the United Nations’ Human Rights Council to urge it to send a fact-finding mission to held Kashmir. The council will also be asked to impose a ban on the use of pellet guns which had reportedly blinded some 120 Kashmiris over the past 13 days.

The adviser said the scale of the spontaneous liberation movement going on in held Kashmir had proved that it was an indigenous struggle and Indian allegations of Pakistan’s involvement in it were baseless.

Earlier taking part in the discussion, members of the house called for a peaceful negotiated settlement of the lingering dispute and said it was a sine qua non for a durable peace in the region.

Many senators proposed an international conference and a joint session of parliament on the Kashmir issue, sending delegations abroad to highlight the issue and enlarging the scope of the parliamentary committee on Kashmir to include senators in it.

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani said Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Maulana Fazlur Rahman had asked him to nominate eight senators to become part of the committee. He said he had told the Maulana that it would require the National Assembly to pass an amended resolution.

He regretted that the Senate was considered a marginalised house by the National Assembly as it had not passed the amended resolution even after passage of some three months.

Mushahid Hussain Syed of the PML-Q said the population of India-held Kashmir was four million whereas the number of troops deployed there was around 700,000. “This means one armed soldier for five civilians”, he said and pointed out that it was the largest soldier-civilian ratio after World War II.

“What do you do when the United Nations is a patsy of a super power? Kashmir is a good case with a loaded bench,” Mr Rabbani remarked after Mr Hussain’s speech.

Sherry Rehman of the PPP proposed that Pakistan appoint a special envoy on Kashmir as big countries have for Afghanistan and launch an online petition on the plight of Kashmiri people.

The house is to pass a resolution on Kashmir when it meets on Friday (today).

The Senate also passed a resolution condemning the recent suicide attack in Madina.

The Senate chairman reserved his ruling on delay in laying the National Command Authority Ordinance before the house.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2016