We expect OIC to reaffirm its support for Kashmiris: Shah Mehmood
31 May, 2019
MAKKAH: Pakistan on Thursday called upon the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to send its fact-finding mission to Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) to investigate the gross human rights violations.
Addressing at the meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir in Jeddah, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called for an inquiry by the OIC’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) to look into continuous incidents of extrajudicial killings, detentions and rape by Indian security forces in IHK.
Qureshi’s demand came as he mentioned an earlier report by the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) that called for formation of a “commission of inquiry” to objectively analyse the ongoing abuses in IHK and to fix responsibility.
Qureshi, who is in Saudi Arabia to participate in the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers’ meeting, said “We expect the OIC Contact Group to unequivocally reaffirm its abiding support for Kashmiris and their struggle for self-determination.”
Meanwhile, Qureshi told journalists that no meeting had been fixed between Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. However, he said Imran Khan had not turned down the possibility of a meeting. He said that there existed a strong need for Indian leadership to be like Manmohan Singh, and added that Pakistan had always emphasised on talks with India. He said that if the two leaders meet on the sidelines of any meeting or event, it would be a positive sign and a good beginning for both neighbouring countries.
Qureshi said that protest from the youth in IHK showed their state of wariness from India. He said Kashmiri youth taking to the streets showed their lack of faith in Indian leadership.
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