The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday slammed the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for raising the Kashmir issue and making anti-India references in resolutions adopted at its Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Baghdad on October 17-18.
India accused Pakistan of orchestrating the references, including remarks on Jammu and Kashmir and insinuations related to Islamophobia, and said Islamabad must vacate territories under its illegal occupation.
The OIC, a bloc of 57 Muslim-majority nations, including India’s neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh and West Asian powers such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, has again raised the Kashmir issue barely a month after its contact group reaffirmed support for what it described as the Kashmiri people's right to self-determination.
Reacting to the latest resolutions, the MEA categorically rejected the references to India, calling them “malicious, biased, and false”. It accused the OIC of allowing itself to be “misused by Pakistan for its bigoted agenda."
India also rejected the bloc's remarks on Jammu and Kashmir and other internal matters, asserting that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are “integral and inalienable parts of India”.
The MEA said Jammu and Kashmir had witnessed significant economic growth since the abrogation of Article 370, with benefits accruing directly to people through infrastructure development, tourism and connectivity.
Contrasting the situation with Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), India accused Pakistan of unleashing “violence, repression and brutality” on civilian protesters, killing scores of people, including women and children. It said a media blackout had failed to hide the alleged human rights violations.
“The only issues related to Jammu and Kashmir that remain to be addressed are Pakistan vacating from areas under its illegal and forcible occupation and ceasing its continued support to cross-border terrorism,” the MEA said.
INDIA HITS BACK OVER ISLAMOPHOBIA REFERENCES
The MEA also criticised what it described as fabricated and hostile references against India in the OIC resolutions, including insinuations related to Islamophobia.
It said the references were a desperate attempt by Pakistan to divert international attention from its own record of minority persecution, sectarian violence, governance failure and political instability.
Questioning the OIC's credibility and integrity, India said the organisation had repeatedly endorsed what it called malicious propaganda and narratives pushed by Pakistan.
“We hope its members would do better and reform this organisation,” the MEA said.
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