The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Saturday reaffirmed the internationally recognised status of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, contradicting the Indian government’s claim that the matter was a bilateral issue between it and Pakistan, a press release issued by the Islamic bloc said.
The organisation expressed concerns over the latest situation in the occupied valley following revoking of its special status on August 5.
It also called for immediate lifting of the curfew, restoration of communication and the respect for the fundamental rights of the people of Kashmir.
Recognising the need for seeking a durable solution to the Kashmir issue according to UN Security Council resolutions, the OIC General Secretariat stressed the need for the resumption of dialogue process between Pakistan and India, which it termed as a “prerequisite for development, peace and stability in South Asia”.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi has aslo asserted that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has an obligation to resolve the decades-old Kashmir issue by implementing its own resolutions that pledged the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people to decide their destiny.
In an interview with a television, she stated: “The whole world subscribes to the principle of self-determination and why should it be denied to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and, what we ask […] Are they denied because they are Muslims?”
Further , Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has also Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday strongly criticised the Indian government for usurping the basic rights, including religious freedom, of the people in occupied Kashmir.
He said that Pakistan could hold talks with India over the issue of occupied Kashmir, if New Delhi meets certain conditions, including allowing him to meet with the Kashmiri leadership.
But he added as a caveat that while Pakistan has never shied away from talks, he did not see a favourable atmosphere for negotiations from the Indian side considering New Delhi’s oppression of the Kashmiri people.
