OIC always sides with Islamabad’s stand on Kashmir: PoK Prez

By Hamza Ameer
Islamabad, Dec 21 (IANS)
Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir has suffered owing to reducing support from many countries around the globe and the Muslim world. In the recent past, reports about withdrawal of support by Saudi Arabia to Pakistan’s stand on the Kashmir issue against India created unrest and suspicion in Islamabad, with debates about its weakening position on Kashmir at the diplomatic level.
However, President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) aka PoK Sardar Masood Khan rejected the impression, stating that Riyadh has always supported Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir through its platforms.
“Riyadh, from its platforms of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and its Kashmir Contact Group always supports Islamabad’s stance”, he said.
“In a recent meeting of the OIC Foreign Ministers Council in Naimey town of Niger, Saudi Arabia once again robustly explained its stand on the Kashmir issue and helped us in highlighting the decades-long dispute on the global level”, he added.
Sardar Masood Khan said Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan stated that “peace and security of South Asia is not possible without the settlement of the Kashmir conflict”.
While highlighting that Riyadh took a strong position on the Kashmir dispute, Sardar Masood Khan regretted that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) opted to remain silent on the matter.
“The statement assumes more significance because Saudi Arabia is the current chair of the OIC”, he said.
“The people of Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir had expected that the brotherly country Saudi Arabia would adopt a strong position on the situation. However, regretfully, the UAE had adopted silence on the Kashmir issue”, he added.
Masood Khan said OIC’s concerns over anti-Muslim hatred in different regions of the world was a clear highlight about what he called, ongoing “worse Islamophobia taking place in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir”.
“Hindu fanatics are targeting the Muslims because of their religion, faith and values, and they wanted to eliminate the Muslims in not only India but also in the disputed Valley”, he said.
Masood lashed out on New Delhi and the Modi government for committing deliberate violations of the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC), which he said resulted in loss of previous innocent lives, injuries to many and damages to properties.
“Indian army had violated the ceasefire line and targeted civilian population along the LoC more than 2700 times during the current year alone”, he said.
“As a consequences, dozens of people were martyred, scored were injured and the people’s property damaged”, he added.
Sardar Khan alleged the Indian government was in violation of the United Nation (UN) resolutions settling Indian Hindus in Kashmir with an aim to turn the Muslim-majority state into a Hindu-majority region. He called on the international community to take immediate notice of the violations.

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