India has rejected a resolution adopted at a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that featured references to Jammu and Kashmir, accusing Pakistan of orchestrating a campaign of politically motivated propaganda and criticising the grouping for allowing itself to be used to advance Islamabad’s agenda.
In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it categorically rejected the anti-India references contained in the resolutions adopted at the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Baghdad on Saturday and Sunday. “The references to India are malicious, biased, and false, and have been orchestrated by Pakistan. The Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India. Politically motivated propaganda can never alter this reality. The ministry also accused Islamabad of attempting to conceal the alleged violations through restrictions on media coverage. “The only issues related to Jammu and Kashmir that remain to be addressed are Pakistan vacating from areas under its illegal and forcible occupation and ceasing its continued support to cross-border terrorism.
Over the past years since the abrogation of Art 370, Jammu & Kashmir has seen significant economic growth and benefits accruing directly to its people through infrastructure development, tourism and connectivity.
We are disappointed that the OIC has once again allowed itself to be misused by Pakistan for its bigoted agenda,” the MEA said in a statement. The MEA said the OIC had no authority to comment on matters that fell strictly within India’s domestic jurisdiction, reiterating that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were integral and inalienable parts of the country. “As we have said in the past, the OIC has no locus standi whatsoever to comment on matters that are strictly internal to India. This is in stark contrast to the situation in PoJK, where Pakistan has unleashed violence, repression and brutality on civilian protesters, killing scores of them, including women and children,” the MEA said. “No amount of media blackout has been able to hide these grave violations of human rights,” the statement said. The ministry termed the references as a “desperate attempt” to shift scrutiny away from what it called Pakistan’s “appalling record” on the persecution of minorities and sectarian violence, as well as governance failures and political instability.
