OIC seeks peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue

ISLAMABAD: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has urged the need for peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue, while Pakistan has reiterated that it will never accept the presence of India in the OIC.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met Secretary General of the OIC Yousef Al-Othaimeen in Jeddah on Thursday and discussed the growing trend of hatred towards Islam and Muslims in different parts of the world.

In a meeting held on the sidelines of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Saudi Arabia’s port city, the foreign minister hoped that the OIC would initiate necessary process to implement Pakistan’s proposals to combat Islamophobia, as agreed during the emergency OIC meeting in Istanbul earlier this year.

Qureshi apprised the OIC secretary general of the continued human rights violations of Indian security forces in Indian Held Kashmir and lauded the OIC’s unwavering support to Pakistan on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Healso thanked the secretary general for appointing a special envoy for Jammu and Kashmir.

Qureshi also apprised the secretary general of the measures being taken by Pakistan to expand its engagement with the OIC including the establishment of the office of Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the OIC in Jeddah.

As OIC completes 50 years of its founding in 2019, the foreign minister informed the secretary general that Pakistan would hold a number of activities to mark the organisation’s golden jubilee.