India rejects Organisation of Islamic Cooperation remarks on J&K as ‘unwarranted’

India on Wednesday categorically rejected what it described as “unwarranted and factually incorrect references” to the country in a joint statement issued by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir.

The OIC has 57 member states, most of them Muslim-majority countries and claims to represent the “collective voice of the Muslim world”. Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Niger are part of the bloc.

The group held a meeting on Tuesday in New York on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. It stated that it was committed to supporting the “inalienable right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination”.

The organisation’s Secretary-General Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed expressed concern about the “humanitarian, human rights and security situation” in Jammu and Kashmir, read the statement.

It added that he had also called for “respect for its international status” and the “revocation of the unilateral and illegal measures” taken since 2019, in an apparent reference to the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.

The article gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, which was bifurcated into two Union Territories: Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

On Wednesday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated that the OIC has no authority to make statements on matters...

Read more