ISLAMABAD: Dr. Yousaf Bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, the secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, has reiterated the “OIC’s full support for the people of Kashmir in their legitimate struggle for the fundamental right to self-determination.”
He called on the Indian government to stop the use of force against Kashmiri people and condemned the “human-rights violations against the Kashmiri people perpetrated by India.”
He added: “The issue of Jammu and Kashmir has been on one of the most important preoccupations of the OIC [for] over three decades.”
Al-Othaimeen’s remarks came as he presided over a seminar and photo exhibition on Indian-occupied Kashmir at the OIC Secretariat in Jeddah on November 19. The event, jointly organized with the Pakistani Consulate in the city, has been held annually for the past five years. Guests included high-level OIC officials, including Ambassador Abdullah Al-Alim, the OIC secretary general’s special representative on Jammu and Kashmir, Saudi officials, members of the diplomatic corps, local dignitaries and representatives from the Pakistani community in Jeddah.
Recalling his recent meeting with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, during which Kashmir was the first issue they discussed, Al-Othaimeen said he had assured the PM of the “OIC’s unflinching support” on the issue.
Pakistani Consul General Sheheryar Akbar Khan thanked the OIC and its member states, the Saudi government and the international community for supporting the cause of the people of Kashmir and said: “The government of Pakistan will continue to extend all moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle.”
He urged the international community to act to persuade India to end the human-rights abuses and to “support the UN report’s recommendation to constitute a commission of inquiry to investigate the human-rights violations in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.”
Ghulam Muhammad Safi, the true representative of the Kashmiri people, briefed the audience about the current situation and the continuing human-rights violations in Kashmir.
Echoing the consul general’s words, Safi also stressed the important role of the international community, and the OIC in particular, in securing the ability of the Kashmiri people to exercise their right of self-determination.
The members of the Kashmir Committee Jeddah presented a unanimous resolution to the OIC secretary general calling for the organization to “redouble its efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue.”
