ISLAMABAD: The Contact Group of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Jammu and Kashmir took stock of the grim human rights situation in the occupied territory and called for an early and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
The Contact Group of the OIC on Jammu and Kashmir met on 5 May 2024 on the sidelines of the 15th Islamic Summit of the OIC in Banjul, The Gambia, the Foreign Office said here on Monday.
It stated that the meeting reviewed the political and security environment in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and also took stock of the grim human rights situation in the occupied territory.
Chaired by the Assistant Secretary General (Political Affairs) of the OIC and the Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, Yousaf Al-Dobeay, the meeting was attended by the member states of the Contact Group i.e. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Niger, and Azerbaijan.
“A delegation of the True Representatives of the Kashmiri People, and the senior officials of the OIC-Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission were also in attendance,” the statement added.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar led the Pakistan delegation to the meeting and briefed the Contact Group on India’s ongoing efforts to transform Kashmiris into a disempowered community in their own land.
According to the statement, Dar apprised the meeting that India was systematically denying the Kashmiri people their fundamental rights and freedoms.
He added that the Indian authorities had created an environment of fear and intimidation in the IIOJK to crush dissent. He urged the international community to take cognisance of the Indian leaders’ provocative statements and unwarranted claims about Azad Jammu and Kashmir, which constitute a serious threat to regional peace.
He also stressed that India must release all the political prisoners, lift curbs on the outlawed political parties, revoke the illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 and the subsequent steps aimed at demographic change and political engineering, and implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
“The participating delegations from different member states emphasized the importance of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute on the OIC’s agenda, and expressed support for the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for realisation of their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” it stated, adding that they called for an early and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024