Senate passes unanimous resolution on Kashmir Black Day
Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam moved the resolution; the law minister and KP governor issued separate statements of support.
ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday unanimously passed a resolution expressing solidarity with the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and reaffirming Pakistan's support for their right to self-determination, a day before Kashmir Black Day is observed on October 27.
The resolution was moved in the upper house by Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Amir Muqam, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported. APP did not say how many senators were present for the vote, whether the house debated the resolution before it was adopted, or whether opposition benches spoke on it.
In his remarks while moving the resolution, Muqam said Kashmir Black Day is observed every year, according to APP. The agency's report did not carry the full text of the resolution beyond its expression of solidarity and its reaffirmation of support for the right to self-determination.
Separately on Monday, Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar reaffirmed Pakistan's continued moral, political and diplomatic support for the Kashmiri people and their right to self-determination, APP reported. The report gave no further detail of where or to whom he made the statement.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also reaffirmed Pakistan's support for the Kashmiri people on Black Day, Daily Independent reported. That outlet likewise did not publish the text of his statement.
Muqam's portfolio covers both Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, the region administered from Gilgit and home to the Skardu-based offices of his ministry's departments.
A resolution of the Senate expresses the sense of the house; it does not by itself alter law or bind the government to a specific course of action. The text adopted on Monday was not released in the reports available to this newspaper.
Kashmir Black Day is marked annually on October 27. The reports carried by APP and Daily Independent did not describe the programme planned for the day in Islamabad, Muzaffarabad or Gilgit-Baltistan, and no schedule of events was available.
None of the reports stated whether the National Assembly would take up a parallel resolution, or whether the government intended to raise the matter at any international forum in connection with the observance.
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