*ISLAMABAD:* With the entire nation condemning the bloodbath in Indianoccupied Kashmir (IoK), Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir and itsChairman Maulana Fazlur Rehman appear nowhere to be seen.
Mandated to espouse the cause of Kashmiris and express solidarity withthem, the present Kashmir Committee comprises nominees of almost all majorpolitical parties, representing the whole nation, to highlight theatrocities committed on Kashmiris.
This is, however, not the first time that Fazlur Rehman has failed tohighlight the plight of Kashmiris – the task for which he is beingremunerated millions each year from the national exchequer.
Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir met only eight times since 2013.
They said that the prized post of committee chairman is being used as apolitical bribe for the past ten years to win the support of JamiatUlema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) – whose chief is Fazlur Rehman – by PakistanMuslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), despite thefact that Fazl has almost been indifferent to the cause of Kashmir.
The committee remained tight-lipped last year as well when over 200youngsters were slain in Kashmir valley after the martyrdom of freedomfighter Burhan Wani.
Fazlur Rehman was conspicuous by his absence once again in 2017 when thecountry’s Parliament hosted an international seminar over the Kashmir issueattended by world parliamentarians and scholars, but he was nowhere to beseen. Also, Chairman Fazlur Rehman failed to convene a diplomaticconference on the IoK despite the announcement by the committee last year.
According to sources, the Kashmir Committee only met once during the entireyear, though a joint session of the Parliament was convened after thecommittee failed to deliver.
Sources further said that the official budget for Kashmir Committee isRs550 million per year. On the other hand, the chairman enjoys the perksand privileges equal to a federal minister and has been provided with afurnished house in the Ministers’ Enclave.
Besides that, a grade 20 officer works as secretary of the committee toassist the chairman.