UNITED NATIONS, Sep 27 (APP): Pakistan has called on the Islamic Cooperation Organization (OIC) to scale up its efforts for the mitigation of the Kashmiri people’s sufferings and finding a just settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with United Nations resolutions that grant the Kashmiri people the right to self-determination.

Speaking to OIC’s Contact Group on Jammu & Kashmir, which met on the sidelines of the 79th session of UN General Assembly, Defence Minster Khawaja Mohammad Asif underscored the need for the 57-member organization to transform its pronouncements on the decades-old dispute into “tangible actions.”

“The OIC and its Member States should use their influence to urge India to improve the human rights situation in Kashmir; release the political prisoners; repeal draconian emergency laws; remove military presence from populated areas; and implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,” Khawaja Asif added.

The five-member group’s state members, besides Pakistan, who were present were : Turkiye’s Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister ELnur Mammadov, Saudi Arabia’s Minister Plenipotentiary at Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Haitham Al-Aalki, and Niger’s Director of International Organizations at the Foreign Ministry, Hama Knsaye Souleymane. the meeting was presided over by OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha.

Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary-General of the World Kashmir awareness forum, attended in his capacity as a True Representative of the People of Jammu and Kashmir.

The group members supported the Kashmir cause and called for a peaceful settlement of the dispute between India and Pakistan.

In his opening remarks, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif emphasized that for lasting peace in South Asia, the Kashmir dispute needs to be resolved in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

In the last 77 years, he told group members, India has tried different methods to consolidate its occupation, but since 5 August 2019 New Delhi had intensified its campaign to “Indianize” Kashmir, and transform its people into a disempowered community.

In the last five years, Khawaja Asif said the Indian authorities have taken a series of legislative, judicial and administrative steps, aimed at altering the demographic structure and political landscape of Kashmir, including gerrymandering of the electoral constituencies, allowing the addition of non-Kashmiris to voter rolls, issuance of domicile certificates to outsiders, giving Lt. Governor more powers in administrative matters, and introduction of new laws on ownership of land and property.

To crush dissent, he said, the Indian authorities have created an environment of fear and intimidation, with draconian laws, such as Public Safety Act (PSA), Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) offer impunity to the Indian forces to arrest or kill any person and destroy any property. Since 5 August 2019, 914 Kashmiris have been killed and another 2447 injured or tortured, with the number of political prisoners remaining in thousands and properties of Kashmiri activists being confiscated as a punishment.

The Indian authorities have outlawed 14 political parties under a counterterrorism law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the defence minister said, adding that the office of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) in Srinagar has also been seized.

Eid prayers at Srinagar’s historic Jama Masjid have not been allowed for the last five years, with Friday prayers also prohibited from time to time, he said. The chief cleric at the Mosque and a renowned Kashmiri leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, is intermittently placed under house arrest, denying him the opportunity to lead the Friday prayers.

Noting curbs on media, the defence minister said the Srinagar Press Club has remained shut since 2020, with the elections of Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association not allowed, and one of its former Presidents, Miyan Abdul Qayyum, arrested for his defiant political views.

International human rights organizations and civil society have extensively documented human rights violations, Khawaja Asif said, adding that the Human Rights Committee had urged India to ensure that the counterterrorism legislation is not applied to crackdown on human rights defenders, journalists, peaceful protesters and political opponents, and to investigate cases of arbitrary detention, and punish the perpetrators.

Regarding local elections that are taking place in Indian Occupied Kashmir in three phases, Khawaja Asif said, “While India is claiming that such steps show its commitment towards democratic norms, let me emphasize that any electoral exercise, pursuant to the Indian Constitution, cannot serve as a substitute to grant of the right to self-determination.

“In the eyes of international law, any process, subservient to the Indian Constitution, cannot be invoked to determine the final status of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an internationally recognised disputed territory”, he added.

“As Jammu and Kashmir is an international dispute, the Indian government or its judiciary have no right to take unilateral measures against the will of the other parties to the dispute i.e. Kashmiri people and Pakistan.”

Undoubtedly, the minister said India’s actions of 5 August 2019, and the subsequent steps ever since, constitute a breach of the UN Charter, UN Security Council resolutions, and international law, including the 4th Geneva Convention.

Pointing out the Indian leaders’ unwarranted claims about the territories of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, he said their frequency increased amid the elections.

“While Pakistan is acting in a responsible manner and upholding the ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC), the Indian leaders’ irresponsible statements constitute a threat to regional peace,” Khawaja Asif said. “The international community, especially the members of this Contact Group, should take cognizance of such statements, which are also contrary to the UN Charter.”

As the institutional embodiment of the collective aspirations of the Muslim Ummah, he said, OIC’s pronouncements on Jammu and Kashmir are a major source of support to the Kashmir Cause.

“The people of Pakistan and Kashmir highly value such resolutions”. the minister said, emphasizing that the OIC should transform its pronouncements into tangible actions.