New York, 23 September 2021 (TDI): Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, addressed the informal meeting of the Jammu and Kashmir Group of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The meeting was chaired by the OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood is currently in New York and has extensive engagement with the diplomats and leaders on the sidelines of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Shah Mahmood highlighted Indian human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. He stated that since the 5th of August (when India abrogated article 35 A and article 370 related to Kashmir’s autonomous status) there has been continuous lockdown, military siege, and innumerable restrictions imposed on more than eight million Kashmiri population. He also said that Indian occupation forces through their atrocities are silencing the voice of Kashmiris for freedom. Shah Mahmood Qureshi mentioned the inhumane treatment by the Indian forces of mortal remains of Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. They snatched his body and buried in a nondescript place.
It is pertinent to highlight here that the Kashmir dispute is one of the longest-standing issues in the UN and the OIC agenda.
It is important to note here that the OIC contact group comprises of Azerbaijan, Niger, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Established in 1959, OIC has 57 member states with a collective population of 1.8 billion.
