BANJUL: The Contact Group of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Jammu and Kashmir convened on Monday, during the sidelines of the 15th Islamic Summit of the OIC.
Pakistan emphasized the need for India to revoke all unilateral actions taken on August 5, 2019, in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and to implement relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on the Kashmir dispute.
Chaired by Yousaf-Al-Dobeay, the Assistant Secretary General (Political Affairs) of the OIC, and the Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, the meeting included member states Türkiye, Niger, and Azerbaijan. Representatives from the senior officials of the OIC-Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission and the True Representatives of the Kashmiri people were also present.
Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, leading the Pakistani delegation, urged the international community to take note of India’s provocative statements and unwarranted claims about Kashmir, which posed a serious threat to regional peace.
Dar asked India to release all political prisoners, lift curbs on political parties, and reverse the illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, along with subsequent steps aimed at political engineering and demographic change.
Pakistan’s top diplomat briefed the Contact Group on India’s systematic efforts to disempower Kashmiris in their own land, noting the denial of fundamental rights and freedoms, along with an environment of fear and intimidation created in IIOJK to suppress dissent.
On the occasion, the delegations of member nations emphasized the significance of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute on the OIC’s agenda, expressed support for the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination by relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and calling for an early and peaceful resolution of the dispute.
—APP
