Pakistan has rejected the Indian external affairs ministry’s “irresponsible” statement on the unanimously adopted resolutions of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Council of Foreign Ministers meeting, which was held in Islamabad from March 22-23.
The two-day meeting of the 48th Session of OIC-CFM ended on Wednesday with an affirmation of support for Palestine and Jammu and Kashmir disputes. A wide-ranging Islamabad Declaration containing as many as 70 points was adopted at the meeting by the conference. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, while speaking at a press conference, had said the OIC Contact Group on Occupied Kashmir decided that its members would meet more frequently to coordinate their positions on the dispute and monitor human rights violations.
However, India on Thursday alleged that references made to it during the meeting in Islamabad were based on falsehoods and misrepresentation. “Nations and governments that associate themselves with such exercises should realise the impact it has on their reputation,” Indian ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said in a statement.
Pakistan rejects India’s objection to inviting Kashmiri leaders to OIC summit
“The OIC is the collective voice of the Muslim Ummah and the second-largest international organisation after the United Nations with 57 members and six observer states,” the Foreign Office said in a statement on Friday.
The Foreign Office added that the OIC has a long-standing principled position in support of the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination granted to them by the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. “While refusing to implement the UNSC resolutions, India has for decades tried to suppress the voice of the Kashmiris through brutal and indiscriminate use of force and gross and systematic violations of human rights in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.”
Besides, it added the BJP-RSS inspired “Hindutva” ideology has “restricted” the space for minorities, especially Muslims, whose “persecution” under state patronage has become a “norm” in India.
We have failed both Palestinians and Kashmiris, says PM
It was of the view that the OIC has accordingly condemned massive human rights abuses in IIOJK, and has once again firmly rejected India’s “illegal and unilateral” actions of August 5, 2019, and subsequent steps aimed at altering the demographic composition of the occupied territory.
The OIC has also denounced the widespread discrimination, intolerance and violence against Muslims in India, it said and called upon India to ensure their rights including religious freedom. The OIC has also inter alia expressed grave concern over the incident of March 9 2022, involving a supersonic missile launched into the territory of Pakistan from India.
“Devoid of any logic or substance, the Indian external affairs ministry statement reflects the frustration of a country that stands exposed and isolated,” it read, “Instead of denying the historical facts and realities, attempting to mislead the international community through fictional claims over the disputed territory, and dismissing valid concerns as reflected in the OIC resolutions, India would be well-advised to pay heed, review its current behaviour, and act responsibly to urgently address those concerns.”
