Pakistan assembly to invite Arundhati Roy to talk on Kashmir

Islamabad, Sep 2 (IANS) Pakistan's Punjab assembly member Sheikh Allauddin has suggested to invite novelist and human rights activist Arundhati Roy to brief the lawmakers on violence in the Kashmir Valley.

Labour and Human Resource Minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar said the next step should be taken in the light of the Foreign Office advice, Dawn online reported.

Treasury benches member Ramesh Singh Arora on Thursday raised the issue of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's statement against Pakistan.

Terming the statement regrettable, he demanded the Foreign Office summon Indian Ambassador Gautam Bambawale to protest.

According to Arora, New Delhi was not only committing atrocities against Kashmiris but also accusing Islamabad of fomenting violence in the valley.

Other members of the assembly also criticised India for the violence in the valley which started on July 9, a day after top militant Burhan Wani was killed in a gunfight with security forces, and supported Kashmiris' right to self-determination.

According to parliamentary secretary Rana Arshad, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has formed a committee to raise the issue at international forums.

Opposition leader Mahmoodur Rasheed condemned the elements in Pakistan that were working against its solidarity.

A man talked against the dignity and integrity of the country while sitting in Britain, he said in oblique reference to MQM founder-president Altaf Hussain. Rasheed lamented that the Pakistani government had not initiated any action against Hussain.