* Stresses need to enter into constructive, sustained dialogue with Pakistan to settle conflict once and for all
ISLAMABAD: Reacting to the ongoing violence against the people of Indian-held Kashmir (IHK), a panel of the Organisation of Islamic Countries foreign ministers asked India on Wednesday to stop human rights violations and take steps to resolve the lingering South Asian conflict peacefully.
The OIC Foreign Ministers Kashmir Contact Group stressed the need to resolve the Kashmir dispute, asking India to enter into a constructive, sustained and result-oriented dialogue with Pakistan to settle the conflict once and for all.
A 12-point declaration adopted by OIC during a meeting in New York, asked the international community to initiate urgent steps for safeguarding the human rights of Kashmiris including their right to self-determination. The Secretary General of the OIC, Dr Normal Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, chaired the meeting.
Foreign ministers and representatives of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Republic of Niger besides AJK Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan and Kashmir Centre Washington Executive Director Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai addressed the meeting. India denied travel documents to leaders of occupied Kashmir including APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
The declaration condemned Indian atrocities in the occupied territory by its troops including killings, violations of human rights and arrests of innocent people. It urged India to release all illegally detained Kashmiri Hurriyet leaders and activists.
Earlier, a memorandum was presented to the OIC secretary general by the representatives of Kashmir to highlight the urgency to resolve the lingering dispute. The memorandum asked the OIC to enter into dialogue with EU and other world forums over Kashmir besides emphasising to sending an OIC representative to the territory.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi renewed Islamabads support for the inalienable rights of the Kashmiri people, which have been denied by India. The US media, meanwhile, criticised New Delhi for being indifferent to aspirations of the Kashmiris.
Pakistan urged Islamic countries to throw their weight behind the Kashmiri peoples just demand for the right to self-determination, saying their indigenous struggle has gained a new momentum and urgency.
It is our moral obligation and collective responsibility to support the Kashmiri people, Qureshi said. app