Qureshi speaks to OIC Secy Gen about COVID-19, developments in Kashmir

ISLAMABAD, March 31: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday stressed that the Covid-19 posed a grave challenge to the entire humanity, including OIC member States, and endorsed the OIC Secretary General’s call on Members to bring together governments, scientists and research institutions to contribute to efforts for finding solution.
The Foreign Minister had a telephone conversation with Secretary General OIC, Dr. Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen and the exchange covered the situation arising out of pandemic , OIC’s responses, and developments in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K). The Foreign Minister further underscored that, as already called for by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the current crisis made for a compelling case for debt relief and restructuring for developing States, as a means to enable them to divert resources to save lives and shore up economies.
The OIC, together with the Islamic Development Bank, needed to play an effective role in helping members cope with the challenges.
The Foreign Minister highlighted the implications of the rising wave of “Hindutva ideology” in India, as reflected in the systematic violence and targeted killings of Muslims in New Delhi in February 2020.
With regard to IOJ&K, the Foreign Minister highlighted that continued restrictions on communication and movement in IOJ&K were preventing unfettered supply of medicines and other essentials, as well as dissemination of information needed to combat the disease.
In this context, he noted the significant number of coronavirus affected persons and two deaths reported in IOJ&K. The Foreign Minister highlighted concerns regarding the possibility of spread of Covid-19 among the large number of Kashmiri youth incarcerated by India. – DNA