OIC recognises Indian govt put 1.5bn people of South Asia at risk: FM Qureshi

Published August 6, 2019
FM Qureshi represented Pakistan in session set up to discuss India's move to repeal Article 370 from occupied Kashmir.— DawnNewsTv/File
FM Qureshi represented Pakistan in session set up to discuss India's move to repeal Article 370 from occupied Kashmir.— DawnNewsTv/File

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Tuesday that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) recognised that the Indian government's aggression [revoking Article 370 and 35A] put more than 1.5 billion people of South Asia at risk.

A session of the OIC took place today in Jeddah to discuss the developments regarding occupied Kashmir. The foreign minister took to Twitter to share the development after the meeting.

"I reiterated Pakistan’s stance on the peaceful resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute and that India’s hostility doesn’t give me much hope for a covenant for peace."

The foreign minister, in a series of tweets, said, "Pakistan asks the OIC to show solidarity — through action — with the people of occupied Kashmir by recognising that this unilateral step by India was against the very status of the region as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions."

Qureshi said that he called on the OIC to convene an emergency meeting of the OIC contact group on occupied Kashmir, "who share our grave concerns over Indian aggression in the region."

On Monday, India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stripped Kashmiris of the special autonomy they had for seven decades through a rushed presidential order.

Later in the day, the Foreign Office (FO) strongly condemned and rejected the move by the Indian government, stressing that occupied Kashmir was internationally recognised as a disputed territory.

"No unilateral step by the Government of India can change this disputed status, as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions," read the statement. "The decision will never be acceptable to the people of occupied Kashmir and Pakistan."

"As the party to this international dispute, Pakistan will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps," the statement read while reaffirming Pakistan's commitment to the Kashmir cause.

Leadership of various religious and political organisations in Pakistan called for the OIC to take the matter of occupied Kashmir and said that India was playing havoc with world peace. They said that more than 1.5 billion people of South Asia were particularly facing an alarming situation because of Indian aggression in the region.

On Sunday, the General Secretariat of the OIC had expressed "deep concern" over the deteriorating situation in occupied Kashmir, including the reports of deployment of additional paramilitary forces there.

Meanwhile, the FO announced that the foreign minister will be returning from Jeddah, instead of joining his family for Haj rituals.

According to the FO, the minister took the decision due to the "existing emergency situation".

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