ANKARA: The human rights branch of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has slammed new laws by the Indian government to control parts of occupied Kashmir, the Anadolu Agency reported on Saturday.

The OIC “condemns the promulgation of illegal ‘Jammu and Kashmir Reorgani­sation Order 2020’ by India which is an attempt to alter demographic and geographic status of the Indian occupied Kashmir”, it said in a Twitter posting on Friday.

The OIC wing pointed out that the latest Indian action was a violation of international human rights and humanitarian laws, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, OIC and UN Security Council resolutions.

It demanded India stop human rights violations in occupied Kashmir, abolish “draconian laws” and recognise Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.

Under the new law, those who have resided for 15 years in the disputed valley are eligible to become permanent residents.

The development followed New Delhi’s scrapping of the disputed region’s longstanding special status last August which invited international ire.

The OIC’s condemnation of Indian act came a day after Pakistan rejected the new domicile law announced by New Delhi and termed the move yet another attempt by India to illegally alter the demography of occupied territory at a time when the world is focused on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a series of tweets, Prime Minister Imran Khan denounced the new law and expressed solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2020