UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has called on the Islamic Cooperation Organization (OIC) to boost its efforts for the just settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with United Nations resolutions that grant the Kashmiri people the right to self-determination.
Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif speaking to OIC’s Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir, which met on the sidelines of the 79th session of UN General Assembly, stressed the need for the 57-member organization to transform its announcements on the decades-old dispute into “tangible actions.”
He was of the opinion that the OIC and its Member States should use their influence to urge India to improve the human rights situation in Kashmir; repeal draconian emergency laws; release the political prisoners; remove military presence from populated areas; and implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
The five-member group’s state members, besides Pakistan, present during the meeting were, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister ELnur Mammadov, Saudi Arabia’s Minister Plenipotentiary at Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Haitham Al-Aalki, Turkiye’s Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz and Niger’s Director of International Organizations at the Foreign Ministry, Hama Knsaye Souleymane. OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha presided over the meeting.
Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, Secretary-General of the World Kashmir awareness forum, attended the meeting in his capacity as a True Representative of the People of Jammu and Kashmir.
The group members supported the Kashmir cause and called for a peaceful settlement of the long-standing dispute between India and Pakistan.
In his opening remarks, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif stressed that for lasting peace in South Asia, the Kashmir dispute needs to be resolved in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions.
