NEW YORK – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has called for holding of an impartial plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
The demand was raised during the meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir on the sidelines of the ongoing session of the UN General Assembly in New York. The meeting chaired by OIC Secretary General, Dr Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, focused on the unabated acts of aggression against innocent Kashmiri civilians and gross human rights violations by Indian troops,KMS reported.
Pakistan Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi led Pakistan’s delegation to the meeting. Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkey, the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the UN and the Director General from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Niger also attended the meeting and delivered statements. Sardar Masood Khan, President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, attended the event as the true representative of the Kashmiri people.
In his opening remarks, the OIC Secretary General condemned the continued killing of innocent Kashmiri civilians and the recent spike of escalating atrocities by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir. He reiterated OIC’s principled position on supporting the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their struggle for securing their legitimate rights including their right to self-determination. He emphasized that the Kashmir dispute should be resolved in accordance with the aspiration of the Kashmiri people, as enshrined in the UN Security Council’s resolutions.
He also referred to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’ report and endorsed the recommendation to constitute Commission of Inquiry for investigating abuses of human rights in Kashmir. He also called for genuine dialogue between Pakistan and India on all issues including the Kashmir dispute. He thanked Pakistan Prime Minister, Imran Khan, for his commitment to peace.
Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in his statement, extended vote of thanks to Secretary General and other Foreign Ministers of the member states of the Kashmir Contact Group for their continued support to Pakistan on the Kashmir dispute. He briefed the delegates on Indian acts of continued aggression, recent escalation of atrocities against innocent Kashmiri civilians and gross violations of human rights in occupied Kashmir, including gruesome incidents of rape, murder, torture and the use of pellet guns against the civilians.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi reiterated Pakistan’s principled position to find a peaceful and just resolution of the Kashmir dispute. He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s pledge to extend moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris in their relentless struggle to secure their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in the numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The Foreign Minister also referred to the report on Jammu and Kashmir released by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in June 2018 that had shaken the “delusion of India”. The evidence-based report on the grave human rights situation in occupied Kashmir recommends the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the human rights violations by Indian troops in the territory.
In their statements, the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkey, the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the UN and the Director General from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Niger expressed their support for peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute and called upon India to observe the UN standards enshrined in the human rights instruments and international law.
Sardar Masood Khan, President of AJK, effectively raised the issue of grave human rights violations perpetrated by the Indian troops in occupied Kashmir. He called upon the international community, especially the Muslim Ummah, to impress upon India to immediately halt these grave violations of human rights and permit the holding of the free and fair plebiscite as enshrined in the UN Security Council resolutions.
He thanked the OIC member states especially members of the Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir for their continued support in highlighting the brutalities being perpetrated against the innocent people of occupied Kashmir. At the conclusion of the meeting, he presented a memorandum to the Secretary General of OIC on behalf of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The memorandum contained the detailed of the human rights abuses by the Indian troops in the occupied territory.
