Daily Times

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Tuesday condemned India’s violation of the Line of Control and intrusion into the Pakistani territory.

“The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation condemns this action against an OIC founding member state,” the organisation stated in a series of tweets. “Reacting to #India’s violation of the line of control between #Pakistan and India, the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned this action against an #OIC founding member state.” The Twitter statement went on to say that the OIC ‘condemned the Indian incursion and aerial violation and dropping of four bombs on 26 February, 2019’. It urged both sides to ‘exercise restraint and avoid any steps that can endanger peace and security in the region’.

OIC also called upon India and Pakistan ‘to act responsibly and encouraged them to seek [a] peaceful solution to the current crisis without resort[ing] to use of force’. It further called on them to ’embrace dialogue and work towards de-escalation of [the] current situation as a matter of priority’.

Menahwile, the Contact Group of the OIC on Jammu and Kashmir has reiterated its continued support to the people of the occupied valley and called on India to immediately stop repressive security operations against the Kashmiris and respect their fundamental and basic human rights.

The meeting of the group was held at the OIC Secretariat in Jeddah on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Assistant Secretary General Ambassador Hameed A Opeloyeru. The group also asked India to address the dispute in accordance with the relevant OIC and United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua and permanent representatives of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Niger attended the meeting. President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir also attended the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, the assistant secretary general expressed grave concern at the rising tension in South Asia and strongly condemned the recent wave of repression and brutal killing of innocent Kashmiri civilians by the Indian occupation forces.

Briefing the gathering about Indian threats to regional peace and security, Pakistan’s foreign secretary reaffirmed Islamabad’s political, moral and diplomatic support to the people of Indian-held Kashmir in their just struggle to achieve the inalienable right to self-determination. President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Masood Khan briefed the members on the continued oppressive policies of Indian security forces in the occupied valley that had alienated the Kashmiri people.

Published in Daily Times, February 27^th 2019.