OIC concerned over attempts to redraw electoral boundaries of IIOJ&K

ISLAMABAD: The General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has expressed deep concern over India’s attempts to redraw the electoral boundaries of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) altering the demographic structure of the territory and violating the rights of the Kashmiri people.

The “delimitation” exercises are in direct contravention of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and international law, including the 4th Geneva Convention.

Referring to the long-standing and principled position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and relevant decisions of the Islamic Summit and OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, the General Secretariat reiterated its solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their just quest for the right of self-determination, in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

It urged the international community, particularly the UN Security Council to take immediate cognisance of the grave implications of such “delimitation” exercises. The OIC statement hit a nerve in India with the Narendra Modi government calling it an “unwarranted comment.”

Hours after the statement, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement asking the body to refrain from carrying out its “communal agenda.” “We are dismayed that the OIC secretariat has once again made unwarranted comments on the internal affairs of India,” the spokesperson of the Indian external affairs ministry Arindam Bagchi said.