ISLAMABAD: Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Special Envoy on Jammu and Kashmir, Yousef M Al-Dobeay, urged India on Wednesday to reverse its illegal and unilateral action of changing the autonomous status of Indian illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and grant the people of the valley their due rights.
In a joint press talk along with Foreign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said the OIC would continue to support Kashmiris for their right to self-determination.
Yousef Al-Dobeay expressed serious concern over the illegal and unilateral actions taken by New Delhi on 5 August 2019 that turned the Kashmiri people into a marginalized minority.
He said his visit to Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) was about getting knowledge of the factual and on-ground situation in the region ahead of the upcoming 15th OIC Islamic Summit to be organized in Gambia in December.
🔴Live: Joint Presser by Foreign Secretary & Special Envoy to OIC Secretary General on Jammu & Kashmir https://t.co/jaF9mWMlhA
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Kashmir is Old Agenda of OIC
The envoy said that Kashmir was an old agenda at the platform of OIC, and it condemned from time to time the human rights situation in the valley.
He recalled that the OIC Contact Group on IIOJK that met on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York in September reaffirmed the inalienable right to self-determination of the people of the valley.
He said the meeting also expressed serious concern over the persistent curbs on the fundamental rights and freedom of Kashmiris in IIOJK.
The OIC envoy commended the government of Pakistan in spotlighting the issue of IIOJK at the international forum and expressed the OIC’s resolve of its continued support to the cause.
On the occasion, Foreign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi said the meeting with the OIC diplomat focused on a comprehensive discussion on the Kashmir problem and the ongoing human rights violations committed by India in the valley.
He said the OIC envoy will visit the Line of Control, where he will receive a briefing on the on-ground situation. The envoy would also meet with the Kashmiri representatives to gain a better understanding of their plight, he added.
The foreign secretary said that OIC’s Special Envoy on IIOJK was tasked with a significant mission.
