DNA

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 23 – While addressing a stakeholders’ consultation session on economic connectivity between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Zubair Motiwala emphasized greatly on the significance of expediting resolution of irritants pertinent to Af-Pak trade and transit regime, if reciprocal resolution to access Central Asian markets is sought by Pakistan.

He was of the opinion that vision of H.E. Prime Minister Pakistan, Imran Khan to support bilateral and transit trade with Afghanistan, especially during challenging times of COVID -19 Pandemic, is highly commendable, however, the bottlenecks and delayed execution of strategies have not only limited reaping of benefits but have further increased the distress across the border.

Motiwala updated Pakistan’s Special Envoy to Afghanistan, honorable Mohammad Sadiq Khan, that despite commitments the speed of clearance, procedural delays, limited working hours, shortage of trackers, load of stuck consignments and increasing cost of doing business in form of detention and demurrages has drained the effect of positive approach and government bodies should immediately review the mechanism for possible improvements. He believed that the appointment of Ambassador Sadiq at such an instrumental position will greatly facilitate the momentum and sought his support in the early resolution of these pending items. He requested that the current issue of shortage of trackers is complemented by the monopoly awarded to one single company, hence, this dependency should be immediately curbed and more players should be brought in for competitive proposition. He also highlighted that 100% scanning requirement is undue and the alternative of “Profiling Mechanism” may be adopted whereby parties with regular and clear history may be exempted from this while only parties with some exceptions may pass through scanning (that too should not exceed 20% as APTTA required 5% only).

Khan Jan Alokozai, Co-Chairman PAJCCI, extended his regards to Government of Pakistan for opening all three borders (Torkham, Chaman and Ghulam Khan) for both transit and trade. He mentioned that decision for allowing exports of Afghanistan recently has been very well received by the business community of Afghanistan. However, he requested intervention from Honorable Mohammad Sadiq to help expedite the movement of the consignments cross border and also to mitigate the hindrances blocking the effective flow of trade and transit.

Junaid Makda, Director PAJCCI, highlighted the immediate need to revisit APTTA and consolidate the same as further delay would cause a significant blow as by July 2020 the agreement would be reaching the finishing line. He further iterated that PAJCCI’s digital platform of Business Portal is an exemplary avenue for businesses to continue their connectivity and dealings amid COVID 19.

The Special Envoy, Ambassador Sadiq assured that the Prime Minister is taking keen interest in not only resolving the pending items, but is also strongly propagating the need to strengthen cross border socioeconomic ties for overall regional stability and prosperity. He acknowledged the issue of tracking devices and assured the private sector of his support in ensuring an immediate resolution. He sought feedback and suggestions of the business community in resolving the core issues and fully endorsed the phenomenon of establishing strong ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan for realizing economic regional integration. He updated of his endeavors in identifying alternative avenues and reflected that the business community across the border will soon be updated on mutually beneficial avenues that the Government is pursuing intently.

In order to materialize the pursued strategies and expediting the resolution of bottlenecks, Chairman PAJCCI requested Ambassador Sadiq and Ambassador Afghanistan Shukrullah Atif Mashal for an immediate meeting in Karachi with DG Transit Trade and Port Authorities in their presence along with private sector, which was acceded.

DNA

Muzaffarabad; 23 June: Sardar Masood Khan, President Azad Jammu and Kashmir, has proposed a ban on import of the non-Halal meat and all non-Halal products into the member nations of the  Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

He also called on the OIC leadership to initiate a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against India and establish a Kashmir Humanitarian Fund with the help of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF).

The President made these proposals while addressing an Emergency Meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir convened at the request of Pakistan. The meeting was attended by OIC Secretary General Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Niger Ambassador Abubakar Hassan and Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to OIC Ambassador Rizwan Shiekh. The Emergency Syed Faiz Naqshbandi, True Representative of the Kashmiri people, and Mr Marghoob Butt, Executive Director OIC-Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) also spoke at the meeting.

After sharing the harrowing details of the human rights situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK), Sardar Masood Khan urged the OIC leadership to urgently send a message to the UN Secretary General to immediately appoint a Special Envoy on Jammu and Kashmir and request the UN Security Council to hold result-oriented meetings to implement its relevant Kashmir resolutions.

The President also said it was high time the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights revived the proposal for establishing a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to investigate the gross and consistent human rights violations in IOJK.

The President informed the Islamic Foreign Minister that “the situation is dire” and that “under the cover of Covid-19, every day dozens of Kashmiris are being martyred by occupation forces in staged encounters. Floodgates for new Hindu settlers from all over India have been opened, while Kashmiris are running from pillar to post to prove that their homeland is theirs”.

Briefing OIC Foreign Ministers about the radical steps taken by Indian authorities to change the demography of the occupied territory, President Masood Khan said, “This is settler colonialism in full swing. The new settlers now qualify for half a million jobs that used to be reserved for Kashmiris”.

He appealed to the international community and multilateral chambers to hear the screams of Kashmiris.

“First thing first, stop the carnage and the biggest land grab in the 21^st century taking place right before our eyes”, said Masood Khan.

The AJK President compared the New Domicile Rules to the Nazi and Israel practices in Germany and Palestine, respectively. “This is a replication of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank. This is a revival of the Nazi Party’s 1935 Nuremberg laws”, said the AJK President.

Highlighting the enormity of the egregious human rights violations in IOJK, President Masood Khan pointed out that some 13,000 boys were being tortured in concentration camps; women were being raped and molested; and demonstrators were being blinded and maimed.

“The occupied territory has been torn asunder into two parts, without the consent of its people, and now it is being ruled directly like a colony by Delhi. This is imperialism”, the AJK President said. He added that this is a story of disenfranchisement, dispossession and displacement. This is naked lebensraum, irredentism and expansionism being executed through state terrorism.

President Masood Khan further underlined that the BJP-RSS religious supremacist doctrine is anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Kashmir. He added that its sole purpose was to wage a civilisational war against Islam and other monotheistic faiths to “cleanse” India.

India hurls false accusations of terrorism against Pakistan to hide its genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crime against humanity perpetrated by it in IOJK.

The President stated with full authority that there were no “launch pads” in AJK and that no fighters were being sent across the Line of Control. He said, “The Indian propagandists lie through the teeth, taking a leaf from Goebbels playbook”.

The AJK President also briefed the Foreign Ministers about the war psychosis whipped up by India and its threats to attack AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan militarily. “Their Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has twice threatened to wipe out Pakistan by the use of nuclear weapons”, he said.

Despite these threats, he said, the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan remain undeterred, and Kashmiris have vowed that they will continue their peaceful struggle for freedom, liberty and self-determination in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions.

The President appealed to the OIC Heads of State and Government to put pressure on India to respect the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people recognised by international law and the international community; restore the disputed status of IOJK; stop forthwith illegal settlements in Kashmir; and reinstate  Kashmiris’ rights to life, permanent residence, ownership of property, livelihoods and education – all protected under international law.

President Masood Khan thanked the OIC, its IPHRC, the European Parliament and the UN Secretary General for their recent statements for the protection of the human rights of the Kashmiris.

The OIC Contact Group also issued a communiqué at the conclusion of the Emergency Meeting.