OIC urged to intervene in Occupied Kashmir to save 'brothers and sisters'

OIC delegation calls on AJK president and discusses lockdown in IOK

MUZAFFARABAD: Special envoy of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called on Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan on Wednesday and discussed the prevailing humanitarian crisis in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) following the abrogation of its special status in August last year.

He welcomed the OIC delegation led by special envoy Yousef Aldobeay at the President House in Muzaffarabad and appreciated the Muslim countries top body for its "proactive and constructive" role in highlighting the Kashmir cause.

Aldobeay was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising Ambassador Rizwan Shiekh, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to OIC Ahmad Sereer, director Asian Affairs OIC Secretariat, members of the Political Affairs Department OIC Secretariat and representatives of the Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Solidarity Fund.

President Masood said that the OIC is the only multi-lateral organisation that has designated a special envoy on Kashmir and condemned the atrocities of Indian forces in the disputed valley through a strongly-worded statements.

He thanked the OIC for its bold statement that it issued in the backdrop of August 5 unilateral move taken by India, during the meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.



The Narendra Modi-led government revoked the semi-autonomous status of IOJ&K on August 5, 2019 after sending tens of thousands of troops in the already heavily-militarised disputed region to quell any uprising against New Delhi’s illegal and unconstitutional move.

The Himalayan region remains under siege ever since with a complete information and communication blockade, while top local political leaders are in detention. New Delhi is now reluctantly easing the draconian curbs after drawing flak from the international community.

Briefing the OIC delegation on the current situation in Occupied Kashmir, the AJK president said that the international community including global media has acknowledged that the people in IOJ&K are living under the threat of genocide.

The US-based Genocide Watch has declared that IOK has entered the 8th stage of the 10 stages of genocide, he added.

India, he said, is now in the "preparatory stage" for genocide in the disputed territory which will be followed by the execution of the genocide. “We must act fast and stop the extermination of the innocent Kashmiris living in IOJK.”

President Masood also highlighted the violence against Muslims protesting controversial citizenship law in India which killed nearly 50 people in sporadic violence last week in Delhi.

Besides dozens of fatalities, shops, schools and homes were burnt as thugs terrorised northeast Delhi residents for four days before Delhi police, criticised for their slow reaction, managed to get things under control.

"47 Muslims have been killed till now and those were not random killings but organised by the Hindutva zealots," AJK president said while appealing the "OIC to intervene and save our Muslim brothers and sisters".