The Foreign Office has said that inclusion of Jammu and Kashmir dispute in the Niamey Declaration of the 47th session of OIC Council of Foreign Ministers is yet another manifestation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) consistent support to the Kashmir cause.
The Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry, in a statement on Sunday said the declaration explicitly reiterates the OIC’s principled position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute for a peaceful settlement in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
Earlier on late Saturday, the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers at its 47th session in Niamey, Niger, adopted a resolution reaffirming its strong support for the Kashmir cause. The OIC categorically rejected illegal and unilateral actions taken by India since 5 August 2019 to change the internationally recognised disputed status of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), and demanded that India rescind its illegal steps.
In a comprehensive and strongly worded resolution, the OIC demanded India to cancel the issuance of domicile certificates to non-Kashmiris and revoke all unilateral and illegal actions in IIOJK, while refraining from taking any step to alter the existing demographic structure of the disputed territory.
Also rejecting policies being pursued by the RSS-BJP regime, the 57 countries of the OIC asked India to refrain from taking any steps to alter the existing demographic structure of the disputed territory.
The resolution strongly condemned the human rights violations perpetrated by Indian occupation forces in IIOJK and other such instances of Indian terrorism that have been the source of unspeakable suffering for the innocent Kashmiri people. It deplored the state-sponsored terrorism and crimes against humanity by Indian occupation forces against people of IIOJK.
The resolution denounced the renewed use of pellet guns by Indian occupation forces against innocent civilians and the harassment of Kashmir women by Indian forces. The OIC deplored that India has callously exploited the current COVID-19 crisis to intensify its military crackdown and further advance its unlawful occupation in IIOJK.
The OIC urged India to adhere to its international human rights obligations and allow the OIC Special Representative on Jammu and Kashmir and the OIC Fact-finding Mission to visit IIOJK. It urged India to implement recommendations of the two Reports of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Jammu & Kashmir.
The resolution also urged the international community to review their engagements with India, the occupying power, as it is violating and disregarding the international law, the international humanitarian law, and international resolutions.
The OIC resolution emphasised that the question of Kashmir is of utmost importance for the Muslim Ummah, recognising that Jammu and Kashmir is the core dispute between Pakistan and India, and its resolution indispensable for realisation of the dream of peace in South Asia.
The resolution acknowledged that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are the principal party to the dispute, and should be included in any peace process for resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute.
The resolution affirmed that any political process/elections held under foreign occupation cannot be a substitute to the exercise of the right of self-determination. It underscored that Jammu & Kashmir is an unresolved question of granting the right to self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir that has been on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for over seven decades now.
