ISLAMABAD: Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha on Saturday said the Muslim world stands with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, calling for a peaceful resolution of the longstanding dispute.
Taha arrived in Pakistan on Saturday morning on a three-day official visit to the South Asian country — his first bilateral visit since assuming office in November last year.
Headquartered in Jeddah, the OIC is the second-largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations, with a membership of 57 states across four continents. It serves as a collective voice of the Muslim world to ensure and safeguard their interests in economic, social, and political spheres.
The OIC has long supported Pakistan in its efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, including the formation of an OIC contact group in 1994 to support the struggle of the people of Indian-administered Kashmir for their right to self-determination.
“My decision to come to Pakistan is to show to Pakistani people, international organizations and the world community that the OIC is supporting the cause of Kashmir,” Taha said at a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in Islamabad.
"The OIC is working hand in hand with Pakistan to find out a peaceful solution for this issue of Kashmir."
The Muslim-majority Himalayan region has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan since their independence from the British rule in 1947. Both countries rule parts of Kashmir, but claim it in full and have fought two of their four wars over the region.
Taha said it is not easy to find a solution to such issues in a day and this is why the OIC has been working with all the stakeholders, including international organizations, to find a just solution to the dispute.
During his Pakistan tour, the OIC secretary-general will also be visiting Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Speaking on the occasion, Bhutto-Zardari said the visit of Secretary-General Taha to Azad Jammu and Kashmir would be a message to the international community that the Muslim world stands in solidarity with the people of Kashmir.
“It will give a message that we have not forgotten the people of Kashmir and a stark reminder to the world and United Nations that the agenda of Kashmir, the agenda of Palestine are the unfinished agendas of the international community,” he said.
The foreign minister expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine and urged the OIC to prepare an action plan to raise the Palestine issue internationally.
Since the occupation of Palestine by Israel, Pakistan has adopted a consistent policy by refusing to recognize Israel as a state and calls for a viable, independent, and contiguous Palestinian State, with pre-1967 borders, Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Secretary-General Taha also said the OIC was working with the Afghan interim government on women's education among other issues.
“The OIC is working with the established interim government of Afghanistan, and as a secretary-general of the OIC, I have appointed a special envoy for Afghanistan,” he said.
“We will work in coordination with all member states on Afghanistan to find a solution for the education of the young Afghan women because even my special envoy went there to discuss with them and we keep discussing as it is not easy but we will keep following with them.”
He said his special envoy, Ambassador Tariq Ali Bakheet, had visited Afghanistan along with scholars from OIC member states and discussed different issues with the Afghan authorities.
“We have also established our office in Kabul which is serving as a liaison office between OIC secretariat and the de facto Afghan government,” he added.
Speaking about the situation in Afghanistan, the Pakistani foreign minister said the OIC was an effective platform to engage with the Afghan interim government.
“It is a difficult and complex situation in Afghanistan and the OIC is the platform which represents the entire Muslim world,” he said.
“We will keep asking the international community to unfreeze their funds, to allow their banking channels to function.”
Bhutto-Zardari urged the Afghan interim government to create an environment for engagement with the world and live up to the commitments made to the Afghan people and the international community.
“The Afghan interim government should fulfill its commitments given by them on the issues of terrorism, women's rights, and women's education as it will help us to help the people of Afghanistan,” the foreign minister said.
He said Pakistan would organize an OIC trade fair in Lahore from June 16 till June 18 next year.
