OIC resolution on Kashmir

After days of confusion over whether or not the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) would take up the Kashmir issue, the actual meeting brought about a resolution in favour of the people of the disputed region and in line with Pakistan’s position. The OIC rejected the Modi government’s aggressive efforts to change the region’s legal and political status and its efforts at undermining the demographics of the disputed territory by revoking the articles of the Indian constitution that grants it special status. Beyond rejecting India’s flurry of illegal moves being made since August 2019, the meeting of the foreign ministers of the OIC member countries — held in Niamey, Niger — also called on the country to cancel the domicile certificates issued to non-Kashmiris, withdraw amendments to landownership laws, and refrain from other legal attempts to change the area’s Muslim majority, and indeed, Kashmiri majority status. It also called for previous efforts at demographic restructuring to be cancelled.

The 57-member Muslim bloc also condemned Indian human rights abuses in the region, going after Indian state terrorism in the strongest terms. This included extrajudicial killings of innocent civilians through fake encounters and other operations and collective punishment such as the practice of razing private property, including residential units. India’s treatment of women in areas under its illegal occupation was also criticised. It’s no secret that rape is used as a weapon of war in the occupied territory. The meeting also slammed India’s continued use of pellet guns, the blinding impact of which we have all seen. Thousands of people have been deprived of sight by the use of pellet guns by Indian occupation forces.

The OIC also noted how even the Covid-19 pandemic was not enough to weaken India’s focus on abusing Kashmiris’ rights. Indeed, if not for the basket case that is Donald Trump’s America, India is the worst-affected country in the world in terms of Covid-19 cases, and yet, it appears that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s government still places a higher priority on abusing Kashmiris than saving its citizens’ lives. The meeting had a consensus that elections in the occupied Kashmir are illegitimate because they are being held under foreign occupation. This critique also covered India’s consistent efforts to block Kashmiris from exercising their right to self-determination by trying to exclude them entirely from any attempts at resolving the dispute.

India was also asked by the OIC foreign ministers the follow up on reports by the United Nations’ observers on the conditions in the region and to allow OIC monitors to complete their own report. New Delhi has previously tried to rubbish independent investigations, including UN reports, mainly getting away with it due to the lack of unity among the international community.

Pakistan cannot let the world stop paying attention to India’s abuses in the region. In that regard, the OIC’s resolution is undoubtedly a win. Unfortunately, the incumbent Indian regime has shown little regard for international criticism, even in its most well-reasoned forms. This leaves Pakistan in a situation where it must also dramatically increase its efforts to push world leaders to use their power and influence to help the Kashmiris get their right to self-determination. Otherwise, wins such as the one last week will mean little to the people who must endure India’s reign of terror.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2020.

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