The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir has restated its backing for the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination. This declaration came during a session held alongside the 80th UN General Assembly in New York on September 23, as revealed by the Foreign Office in a statement on Wednesday. The gathering, led by the OIC Secretary General, included Foreign Ministers and high-ranking representatives from Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Niger. Syed Tariq Fatemi, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, briefed the assembly, while Kashmiri representatives also presented updates on the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The group reaffirmed its unwavering support for the Kashmiri struggle, echoing prior OIC resolutions and pronouncements. They emphasized that lasting tranquility in South Asia depends on resolving the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as per UN Security Council resolutions. The ministers expressed apprehension over recent military escalations in the area, including incursions into Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. They commended the truce between the involved parties and acknowledged the mediation endeavors that calmed tensions.
Deep anxieties were conveyed about India’s actions in IIOJK after the April 22 Pahalgam incident, including the apprehension of almost 2,800 individuals and the razing of numerous residences. The assembly denounced the continuing incarceration of Kashmiri political figures, particularly Shabbir Ahmed Shah, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. They also condemned the outlawing of political groups, seizure of activists’ assets, and limitations on religious gatherings at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid and Eidgah.
Dismissing India’s August 5, 2019, actions as ‘illegal and unilateral,’ the Contact Group stressed that any voting process in IIOJK under the Indian Constitution cannot replace the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination. The assembly welcomed the OIC Secretary General’s Special Envoy’s trip to Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir earlier this year, and the OIC Ambassadors’ joint statement in May, which reiterated the Kashmir dispute’s importance to South Asian peace.
The final statement requested the OIC Secretary General and member states to raise awareness of the Kashmiris’ situation on international platforms and urged the OIC Human Rights Commission to dispatch a fact-finding delegation to Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the Line of Control. It also called on India to free political detainees, lift restrictions on Kashmiri parties, revoke repressive legislation, and implement UN resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.