Visiting OIC delegation urges India to reverse Kashmir move

ISLAMABAD: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir Ambassador Yousef M. Al-Dobeay urged India on Wednesday to reverse its August 5 decision to deprive the disputed Himalayan territory of its limited autonomy and put the entire population of the region under a security lockdown, said an official handout circulated by the presidential secretariat in Muzaffarabad.
According to the press release, the special envoy made the statement during a media interaction that followed his meeting with Azad Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan.
Al-Dobeay arrived in Pakistan along with a six-member delegation on Monday to witness the ground realities in Kashmir.
During his interaction with the media, he noted that the territorial dispute between India and Pakistan had always remained at the top of the OIC agenda, adding that its resolution was imperative for peace and security in South Asia.
He also urged the administration in New Delhi to bring an immediate end to the ongoing curfew in Kashmir and restore the fundamental rights of its people.
Al-Dobeay pointed out that the OIC had always favored a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the United Nations resolutions.
The Azad Kashmir president recognized the support rendered by the international organization of Muslim countries, noting that India was afraid of its 57 members and their diplomatic backing to the independence movement in Kashmir.
He recalled his recent meeting with the OIC secretary general in Jeddah wherein he had requested for a visit of a special delegation of the organization to Kashmir.
Khan said that the six-member team was visiting the region in response to that request, adding that people on both sides of the Line of Control had high hopes of the inter-governmental Islamic organization.