ISLAMABAD: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) reiterated on Wednesday India should reverse its decision to revoke the special constitutional status of the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir while asking the administration in New Delhi to pay attention to the human rights situation in the area.
According to an OIC statement, Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha’s message related to the issue was read out at an event and photo exhibition held in Jeddah to highlight “gross human rights violations” in Indian administered Kashmir. The event was organised by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative at the OIC, Ambassador Syed Fawwad Sher.
“The Secretary-General recalled that during the 49th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers held in March this year in Nouakchott, Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Council urged India to reverse all illegal and unilateral measures taken on or after 5 August 2019, and to stop the gross, systematic and widespread human rights abuses in the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir,” it added.
Taha described meaningful engagement and dialogue among all parties to the Kashmir dispute along with the involvement of the international community as essential steps in the resolution of the protracted conflict between India and Pakistan.
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi abolished a decades-old law that guaranteed limited level of autonomy to the disputed Muslim-majority region in 2019.
Subsequently, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic relations with its neighboring state while suspending much of the bilateral trade.
