Pakistani foreign minister urges OIC to lead diplomatic efforts to resolve Kashmir dispute

Demonstrators hold a banner and placards during a protest to show their solidarity with people of Indian-administered Kashmir, in Islamabad on August 5, 2022. (AFP)

• Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari pens letter to OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha
• Friday marked third anniversary of India stripping the special autonomy of Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) secretary-general to lead diplomatic efforts to find a lasting resolution to the Kashmir dispute between New Delhi and Islamabad, the foreign office said. 
The foreign minister wrote to OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha on the third anniversary of India’s August 5, 2019 move to strip the disputed Kashmir valley of its autonomy and divide it into two federally-administered territories. 
The dispute between India and Pakistan dates back to 1947 when millions of people's lives were disrupted as departing British Indian colonial administrators ordered the creation of two countries - one mostly Muslim and one majority Hindu.
A mass migration followed, marred by violence and bloodshed, as about 15 million Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, fearing discrimination, swapped countries in a political upheaval that cost more than a million lives.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since 1947, and relations remain tense, particularly over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, which both claim in full but rule in part.
In his letter to Taha, Pakistan’s foreign minister apprised him of the injustices that the people of Indian-administered Kashmir were going through since the August 5 move. 
“The Foreign Minister called upon the OIC to continue to stand in solidarity with the people of IIOJK and lead the diplomatic effort for finding a lasting solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UNSC and OIC Resolutions,” the foreign minister said.
Bhutto-Zardari appreciated the OIC’s “consistent and principled” position to support the people of Kashmir in their inalienable right to self-determination, the foreign office said, adding that the foreign minister urged Taha to take “further steps from the OIC platform to help address the humanitarian needs” of the people of Kashmir.  
The OIC on Friday called on the international community to take concrete steps for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.