Pakistan welcomes OIC’s ‘consistent support’ for Kashmir cause

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office on Wednesday welcomed the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) support for the Kashmir cause, which was reiterated during a recent meeting of its secretary general with India’s envoy to Saudi Arabia. 
OIC secretary general Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen received India’s ambassador, Ausaf Sayeed, at his office in Jeddah on Monday and reviewed with him the situation Indian-administered Kashmir in the context of the relevant UN and OIC resolutions opposing New Delhi’s August 2019 move revoke the disputed territory’s autonomous status.
Al-Othaimeen also conveyed the desire of the OIC General Secretariat to dispatch a delegation to the region and to facilitate a meeting between Pakistan and India on the issue, the OIC said in a press release after the meeting.
Muslim-majority Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, which both claim it in full and rule it in part. The nuclear-armed neighbors have fought two of their three wars over control of the region.
“Pakistan appreciates OIC’s consistent and longstanding support for the Kashmir cause and legitimate rights of the people of IIOJK (Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir),” the Pakistani foreign office said in a statement.
“This is the first time that the principled position of the 57 OIC members states has been duly conveyed to India. India should review its policies in IIOJK and fully implement UNSC and OIC Resolutions on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.”
On Aug. 5, 2019, New Delhi scrapped Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution that granted special autonomous status to the region. It also divided the state into two federally administered units — Union Territory of Ladakh and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The move was followed by a crackdown on political activity, arrests of hundreds of political leaders and activists, and a lockdown of the region.
During the 47th session of the group’s Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Niamey, Niger, in November last year, the OIC adopted a new resolution categorically rejecting “unilateral actions” taken by India in Kashmir since Aug. 5, 2019.
“The Jammu and Kashmir dispute has been among the longest standing issues on the OIC’s agenda,” the foreign office said. “Indian illegal and unilateral actions in IIOJK and the continued violation of human rights of the Kashmiri people have been a top priority of the OIC.”
With 57 member states and a collective population of approximately 1.68 billion people, the OIC is the world’s second largest intergovernmental body after the UN.