Pakistan, Malaysia seek Kashmir solution under UNSC resolutions

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Malaysia, and Turkey have agreed that while being mindful of the centrality of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), they will together proceed with the initiatives in broad areas of strategic cooperation under the Joint Committee Meeting (JCM), to complement the efforts by the community of the Muslim world, aimed at uplifting the socio-political and socio-economic condition of the Ummah and promoting true values of Islam.

“Malaysia and Pakistan firmly stressed that the question of Palestine, situation and Jammu and Kashmir, and the Rohingyas issue should be resolved on the basis of the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and General Assembly resolutions, as well as the UN Charter and the international human rights and humanitarian law,” stated the joint statement issued by the foreign offices of the two countries, at the conclusion of the visit of Prime MinisterImran Khan to Malaysia. Both countries focused on the centrality of the OIC while pointing to the problems that the Ummah is facing, was to ensure, that Pakistan, Malaysia, and Turkey were in no way trying to create a parallel Muslim bloc. At the time of the holding of the KL Summit, Saudi Arabia had raised objections that the Summit would create a parallel Muslim bloc to the OIC.

Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad recognised the essential role of the prime minister of Pakistan in ensuring peace and security in the South Asian and West Asian regions through his goodwill diplomatic efforts towards the maintenance of international peace and security. “Malaysia and Pakistan will further increase collaborative efforts in international fora in upholding the true values of Islam and in addressing the common challenges facing the Ummah, including Islamophobia and the rights of Muslim minorities,” adds the joint statement.

Imran Khan commended the prime minister of Malaysia on the successful convening of the KL Summit 2019 considering the outcome of the summit. “He further stated that the summit had been a success in bringing about change through economic collaboration”, said the joint statement. The statement noted that Imran Khan appreciated the efforts of Prime Minister Mahathir for raising awareness regarding the situation and underscoring the imperative of peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. In this regard, he briefed the prime minister of Malaysia on the illegal and unilateral actions of the Indian government of August 05, 2019, and the ensuing lockdown, communications blockade, media blackout and illegal detentions in Jammu and Kashmir which have brought immense suffering to the Kashmiri people.

The Malaysian premier acknowledged the extensive counter-terrorism efforts by Pakistan and progress it continues to make in complying with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and in this regard, Pakistan appreciated the constructive role that Malaysia has been playing to assist Pakistan in its efforts to improve and continuously taking active steps in further developing its anti-money laundering and terrorism financing ecosystem. The two leaders also welcomed the recent unanimous adoption of the Pakistan’s initiative at the 8th Session of Conference of the States Parties (COSP) to the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) of the Resolution on “Promoting good practices in relation to the role of national parliaments and other legislative bodies in preventing and combating corruption in all its forms.”

The strategic partnership that was formalised in Islamabad on March 22, 2019, will now see efforts to continue to maintain regular high-level contacts, deepen friendly exchanges of visits, and expand cooperation in all fields. Both sides have decided to convene the 14th Meeting of the Joint Committee on Defence Cooperation (JCDC) at the senior officials level in Rawalpindi, the 4th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM), established pursuant to the Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation Agreement, at the ministerial level in Islamabad, the 2nd Session of Bilateral Consultations (BC), at the senior officials level in Putrajaya and the 4th Joint Committee Meeting, established pursuant to the 2007 Malaysia-Pakistan Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (MPCEPA), at the senior officials level in order to advance the revision of the agreement.

Malaysia and Pakistan will continue to promote parliamentary diplomacy through the exchange of visits and regular contacts between the members of their respective bilateral parliamentary friendship groups. Both countries have now decided to in addition to its existing direct ISB/KUL/ISB sector, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be adding a new direct flight destination soon from Lahore to Kuala Lumpur in order to cater for the increasing number of Pakistani travelers to Malaysia. The Malaysia Airlines will give due consideration to enter into a code-sharing arrangement for the existing ISB/KUL/ISB sector operated by PIA, as proposed by the latter.