ISLAMABAD, Jun 22 (APP):The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)’s Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir on Monday said the question of Kashmir was of utmost importance for Muslim Ummah and called upon its member states to raise the dispute in their bilateral engagements with India.
The communiqué issued by the Foreign Ministers’ of OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir after the Emergency Virtual Meeting stressed that the OIC member countries must take up the issue with India with a view to “safeguarding the fundamental human rights of Kashmiri people in Indian Occupied Kashmir and ensuring expeditious implementation of the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions”.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu, Azerbaijan’s FM Elmar Mammadyarov, FM of Niger KallaAnkourao, OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen and Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan attended the video meeting.
As per the communiqué, the ministerial meeting asked the OIC General Secretariat and its affiliated, specialized and subsidiary organs to take necessary measures to ensure implementation of OIC resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.
The OIC Secretary General was urged upon to highlight the worsening situation in IOJ&K at various international fora including the United Nations and called for immediate steps for amelioration of the humanitarian situation and peaceful resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute.
The meeting expressed deep concern over the worsening human rights and humanitarian situation in IOJ&K since India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019.
The OIC foreign ministers urged upon India to rescind its unilateral and illegal actions, and allow the Kashmiri people to freely exercise their right to self-determination through a UN-supervised plebiscite.
It asked India to stop indiscriminate use of force, including the use of pellet guns, lift the unabated military siege and inhuman lockdown, repeal its draconian emergency laws, allow exercise of fundamental freedoms, and release illegal detainees.
The meeting urged upon India to stop any move towards changing the demographic structure of IOJ&K being “illegal and in violation of international law, particularly the 4th Geneva Convention”.
It also emphasized on India to provide unhindered access to the OIC, OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission and UN Fact Finding Missions, OIC Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, and international media to investigate into human rights violations in IOJ&K.
The meeting stressed to establish a Commission of Inquiry as suggested by Office of the United Nations High Commissioner (OHCHR) to conduct comprehensive independent international investigations on human rights violations in Kashmir. It rejected the newly-notified “Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization Order 2020” and “Jammu & Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate Rules 2020” aimed at changing the demographic structure of IOJ&K.
The OIC foreign ministers expressed concern over India’s intensified ceasefire violations on the Line of Control, resulting in deaths and injuries to civilian population particularly women and children.
The meeting deplored India’s callous exploitation of the current COVID-19 crisis to intensify its military crackdown and further advance unlawful occupation in Jammu and Kashmir, fearing that it could contribute to spread of pandemic.
