KARACHI: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday called upon the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to show solidarity with the people of India-held Kashmir through actions.

An emergency meeting of the OIC’s Kashmir-focused group took place after the Indian government rushed through a presidential decree to abolish Article 370 of its constitution, which granted special status to occupied Kashmir.

In a series of tweets, the foreign minister said he had urged the OIC to recognise that the unilateral step taken by India went against the status of the occupied territory as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

“Today in Jeddah, I called on the OIC to convene an emergency meeting of the OIC contact group on Jammu & Kashmir, who share our grave concerns over Indian aggression in IOK,” said the foreign minister.

“Pakistan asks the OIC to show solidarity through action with the people of IOK by recognising that this unilateral step by India was against the very status of IOK as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions,” he tweeted.

China says Indian decision on Kashmir violates its territorial sovereignty

The minister added that the OIC recognised that the “aggression put more than 1.5 billion people of South Asia at risk”.

“I reiterated Pakistan’s stance on the peaceful resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute and that India’s hostility doesn’t give me much hope for a covenant for peace,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal had announced that the foreign minister would represent Pakistan in the OIC meeting.

“Meeting of the OIC contact group on Jammu & Kashmir is being held in Jeddah today, on the recent condemnable illegal developments regarding IOK,” said Dr Faisal.

The OIC group’s meeting, which was held in Jeddah, was attended by representatives from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and other member countries.

On Sunday, the General Secretariat of the OIC had expressed “deep concern” over the deteriorating situation in India-held Kashmir, including reports of deployment of additional paramilitary forces in the region.

On Monday, the Foreign Office had condemned and rejected the move by the Indian government, stressing that occupied Kashmir was recognised globally as a disputed territory.

“No unilateral step by the Government of India can change this disputed status, as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council resolutions,” read the statement. “The decision will never be acceptable to the people of IOK and Pakistan,” it said.

“As the party to this international dispute, Pakistan will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps,” the statement read while reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to the Kashmir cause.

China opposes move

China said on Tuesday that it opposed India’s decision to revoke the special status of held Kashmir because it undermined China’s territorial sovereignty.

“India’s action is unacceptable and would not have any legal effect,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement on the ministry’s website.

China urged India to be cautious on border issues and to strictly abide by the agreements reached by both countries in order to avoid any actions that would further complicate boundary issues, Ms Hua said.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2019