Pakistan rejects India’s objection to inviting Kashmiri leaders to OIC summit

Pakistan on Friday has strongly rejected India's 'baseless' objection to the invitation extended by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to the Kashmiri leadership for the 48th session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers session to be held in Islamabad on March 22.

In a statement, Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar said the OIC has consistently supported the struggle of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination and has traditionally invited the Kashmiri leadership to attend its meetings.

He urged India to not create hurdles in the participation of the true representatives of the Kashmiri people in the OIC meeting.

The spokesperson further said that instead of questioning the OIC’s principled stance for the dignity and liberty of the oppressed Kashmiri people, India should reflect inwards and end its repression and widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and let the Kashmiri people exercise their right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

He further said that India had no locus standi to claim the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir as its internal matter.

Read Pakistan, India clash at UN over abuses in IIOJK

The FO added that numerous resolutions of the UNSC on the Kashmir dispute declare that the final disposition of the state would be made in accordance with the will of the people to be expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations.

Iftikhar maintained that India’s repeated assertions to the contrary cannot obfuscate the reality of its illegal occupation and repression in IIOJK.

Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the OIC had taken a very firm stand on the issues of Palestine and IIOJK.

“A meeting of the Kashmir Contact Group will also be held on the sidelines of the OIC-CFM,” Qureshi said.

“[In the contact group’s meeting], Pakistan will present observers reports on Kashmir. Pakistan intends to get a ministerial resolution passed on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. The resolution will aim at sending a message to those who are silent on the issue of Kashmir despite knowing the ground reality.”