Jammu and Kashmir situation: OIC special envoy visits Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: After severe criticism that the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) is not doing enough to highlight India’s annexation of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, the Organisation has decided to send its Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, Ambassador Yousef M. Al Dobeay, heading a six-member delegation to Pakistan.

“The Special Envoy’s visit is of particular significance in the backdrop of India’s unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019 and the strong message on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute contained in the Resolutions and Communiqués of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) and Summit meetings. The OIC Secretary General’s representative is visiting Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir from March 2-6,” announced the Foreign Office.

The Organization has a dedicated Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir since 1994. Al Dobeay and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will also hold a joint press conference at the Foreign Office tomorrow.

During the visit, the delegation will be briefed on the deteriorating human rights situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K). “The Special Envoy and his accompanying delegation members will visit the Line of Control (LOC) to get first-hand knowledge about the loss of lives and property caused by indiscriminate firing of the Indian forces”, added the statement from the Foreign Office.

Pakistan says the OIC has extended its steadfast support to the Kashmiri people in their just struggle for the inalienable right to self-determination. While Pakistan has raised the importance of an urgent emergency meeting of the OIC with the Saudi leadership, officially, it does not criticize the OIC for its lukewarm response towards the people of Kashmir.

Rather it says that since 5 August 2019, the OIC has remained actively seized of the deteriorating situation in IOJ&K. “The OIC and its human rights body, Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC), have issued several statements condemning India’s actions and reiterating their principled position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. The OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir has met twice since 5 August 2019”, says the Foreign Office.

The Communiqué issued by the Contact Group’s meeting in New York at the Ministerial level reflected OIC’s strong commitment to the Kashmir cause. Under its Standing Mechanism to monitor human rights situation in IOJ&K, the IPHRC also held an unprecedented ‘Open Discussion’ on the worsening situation in IOJ&K in November 2019. “Kashmiris and the people of Pakistan value OIC’s role in espousing the cause of Jammu and Kashmir at the international level,” says Pakistan.