Dr. Shahid Zia
Pakistan will hold a ministerial meeting of the 57-member Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Jammu and Kashmir in April 2020, said official media in Islamabad. The development, according to diplomats, is linked to a broader Saudi-Pakistan deal. “I told the Saudi Foreign Minister that the OIC must make a strong statement on India’s Citizenship Amendment Act as well as on the situation in [Jammu and Kashmir],” Mr. Qureshi said in a press conference. Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has expressed “deep concern” on the Kashmir situation and called for its peaceful resolution. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Wednesday expressed “deep concern” over the worsening human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir with the Indian move to scrap its special status. In a statement issued following a meeting of its Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir on the sidelines of the 74th session of UN General Assembly in New York, the Muslim body reaffirmed its stance on the dispute over the Indian-administered region. The statement “expressed grave concern that India’s actions aim to change the identity and demographic composition of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir and to transform it from a Muslim-majority state into Hindu-majority territory.” The Contact Group on Jammu & Kashmir was formed in 1994 to coordinate the OIC policy on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. Members are Turkey, Azerbaijan, Niger, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.The meeting also welcomed a statement by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Aug. 8, which affirmed that the UN position on the issue is governed by the UN Charter, and successive Security Council resolutions. The OIC statement “affirmed that Indian actions are inconsistent with international law, applicable UN Security Council resolutions and India’s own solemn commitments to implement UNSC resolutions.”Jammu and Kashmir has been under a near-complete lockdown since the Indian government’s move on Aug. 5 to scrap the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.Since then, the Indian government has blocked communication access and imposing restrictions on movement to thwart any protests in the region.Several rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have repeatedly called on India to lift restrictions and release political detainees.India said that 93% of the restrictions have been eased in the conflict-ridden region, a claim that Anadolu Agency could not independently verify.The OIC contact group also deplored on the lockdown of the Kashmiri people, round-the-clock curfew, detention of thousand people, including Kashmiri leaders.The OIC said the settlement of the issue is “indispensable for durable peace and stability in South Asia and beyond.”The group called on India to “rescind its unilateral illegal actions, halt its human rights violations in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir, including the use of force against peaceful demonstrators and repeal its draconian emergency laws including withdraw its heavy military presence from Kashmir.” A multi-party conference held in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Monday demanded an immediate end to a communication and security lockdown imposed by India in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region after the scrapping of its longstanding special rights last August.Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and across the world observed Indian Republic Day, on Saturday, as Black Day to remind the world that India’s continued denial of right to self-determination to the Kashmiris is contrary to its claim of being a democratic republic.Call for the observance of the Black Day was given by the Joint Resistance Leadership comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik and supported by the Kashmir High Court Bar Association. The day was marked by a complete strike in the Occupied Kashmir. The occupation authorities deployed Indian troops and police personnel in strength in Srinagar and other towns to prevent people from staging anti-India demonstrations.The authorities also placed Hurriyat leaders including Syed Ali Gilani, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Hilal Ahmed War, Javaid Ahmed Mir, Zafar Akbar Butt, Abdul Ahad Parra, Molvi Bashir Irfani and Parray Hassan Firdosi under house arrest or in custody to prevent them from leading the demonstrations.All roads leading to a cricket stadium in Sonawar area of Srinagar, the main venue of official function in Srinagar, were sealed. The authorities suspended mobile internet and rail services in the occupied territory and stopped senior journalists from covering the function of Indian Republic Day in Srinagar.Meanwhile, Chairman of Hurriyat forum, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, launched a social media campaign, today, highlighting the miserable plight of the Kashmiri detainees lodged in different jails.On the other hand, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir chapter held a protest demonstration in front of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to mark India’s Republic Day as Black Day.In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, main function of the day was held in Muzaffarabad where Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan was chief guest.Cabinet members, Members of the Legislative Assembly, Hurriyat leaders and people belonging to all walks of life participated in the protest gathering. In his speech, Raja Farooq Haider reiterated his resolve to extend political, diplomatic and moral support to Kashmiris in their just struggle to right to self-determination. He said Indian army backed by infamous Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act is meant to suppress the political aspirations of the people of Occupied Kashmir and their just struggle, but India will never be able to succeed in its nefarious designs and ill motives. He said Kashmiris will continue struggle until they are granted their inherent right to self-determination in line with UN Security Council resolutions and their own aspirations. The speakers paid glowing tributes to the martyrs of Kashmir struggle and said it is the blood of Kashmiris that has kept the Kashmir issue alive. The speakers appealed UN, other human rights watchdogs and international community to take a serious notice of Indian human rights violations in the Occupied Kashmir and stop India from further bloodshed of the innocent Kashmiris. Later, participants of the gathering having placards in their hands marched towards Burhan Muzaffar Wani Chowk amid anti-India and pro-freedom slogans. Protest rallies and demonstrations were also held at all the Districts and Tehsils’ headquarters in connection with Black Day. The authorities have also suspended mobile internet services across occupied Kashmir.The conference presided by Raja Farooq Haider, the premier of Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir, was attended by all the major political and religious parties based in the Pakistani side of the disputed valley, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the Pakistan Peoples Party, Jamat-e-Islami, and others.Expressing concern over the continuing detention of the pro-freedom leaders of Jammu and Kashmir, including Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Shabbir Shah, Yasin Malik, Asiya Andrabi, and others, the conference urged the international community to press India to end the lockdown, a joint statement said.The parties vowed that the people of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir would continue to support the “just struggle of Kashmiris for their right to self-determination.”Long-fraught relations between the two South Asian nuclear rivals flared up further after India scrapped the special provisions of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and imposed a near-complete lockdown on Aug. 5.Several rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have repeatedly called on India to lift restrictions and release political detainees.Indian authorities, however, say daytime restrictions have been lifted in the region, a claim Anadolu Agency has not been able to confirm.India and Pakistan both hold Kashmir in parts and claim it in full. China also controls part of the contested region, but it is India and Pakistan which have fought two wars over Kashmir.Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.India and Pakistan hold Kashmir in parts and claim it in full. China also controls part of the contested region, but it is India and Pakistan who have fought two wars over Kashmir. The OIC is an international organisation consisting of 57 member states, with 53 countries being Muslim-majority nations. In a meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir held in Jeddah on the sidelines of the 14th Islamic Summit, the Secretary General of the grouping “expressed deep concern” over the situation in Jammu . The OIC is an international organization consisting of 57 member states, with 53 countries being Muslim-majority nations. In a meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir held in Jeddah on the sidelines of the 14th Islamic Summit, the Secretary General of the grouping “expressed deep concern” over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistan Foreign Office said here. He also urged the government of India “for a peaceful settlement of the dispute, A police official told Global News Service (GNS) that unknown persons lobbed a hand grenade at a CRPF camp in Ganjiwara near the Acchabal Adda around 1:40 pm today. The grenade, however, missed the intended target and exploded on the roadside resulting in injuries to at six persons including a CRPF trooper. The injured have been identified as Mohammad Jabar son of Mohamnad Sultan of Brenti Batpora Dyalgam, Mukhtar Ahmad Zargar son of Abdul Rehman of Shakhsaz Mohalla, Sheeraza wife of Abdul Rashid Dar of Harnag, her son Rujan, Vijay Kumar (Ice-cream vendor) son of Lahoram of Punjab and CRPF personnel Huma Sunwal of CRPF 164 Bn (E Coy).”All the injured have been removed to the nearby district hospital for treatment, “the official said, adding that the injured were later referred to SKIMS Soura for specialized treatment.However, 55-year-old civilian Mohammad Jabar succumbed to injuries, the official said.Soon after the attack, army, CRPF and police cordoned off the whole area and launched searches to nab the attackers.
