Pakistan demands withdrawal of OIC’s invitation to India

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, along with the defense and finance ministers, addresses a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

• FM Qureshi asks Secretary General to play a role in this regard
• UAE, which is hosting the event, had invited Swaraj as the “guest of honor”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister on Wednesday opposed the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) decision to invite his Indian counterpart for an upcoming two-day meet in Abu Dhabi, UAE, starting on March 1.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi voiced his displeasure — in a letter sent to the OIC Secretary General, Dr. Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen — over India’s External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj being invited as the guest of honor at the event.
“We have asked the UAE to withdraw the invitation extended to the Indian Foreign Minister. Otherwise, we will have to review our decision to attend the conference,” a statement quoting Qureshi’s comments from the letter said, adding that he has asked Dr. Al-Othaimeen to play a role in this regard.
Meanwhile, taking umbrage over the issue, Salman Bashir, a Pakistani diplomat who served as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan and as the High Commissioner of Pakistan to India, told Arab News: “India has committed aggression against a founding member of the OIC. Inviting them as a guest of honor to is totally unacceptable. Need for serious introspection by the Islamic Ummah.”
However, another former diplomat, Javed Hafeez told Arab News that Pakistan “should not boycott the OIC conference, but represent it at a lower level and share its concerns with the guests, participating countries.” 
The 46th session of the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers will be held under the theme of “50 years of Islamic cooperation.”
A day earlier, on Tuesday, FM Qureshi during a press conference in Islamabad said: “Aggression has been done against a founding member of the OIC,” referring to Indian fighter jets violating Pakistan’s airspace and targeting alleged terror camps across the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday.