ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has expressed its commitment to a strong and influen- tial Organisation of Islamic Cooper- ation (OIC) as OIC Secretary General His- sein Brahim Taha visits Pakistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir. Pakistani leaders have assured the OIC chief of continued support and active role by Islamabad in the OIC activities – making it stronger and influential. The OIC has recent- ly completed 50 years of its exis- tence. Pakistan was one of its found- ing members in 1969. Although the need for cooperation among Islamic nations has been felt for a long time, it was the despicable ar- son attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1969 that proved catalytic for the birth of this international organization which is now the second largest intergovernmen- tal body after the United Na- tions with 57 member states. Pakistan has played an active role all these fifty years in es- pousing co-operation among member states and supporting the just causes of Palestinians and Kashmiris. Last month, the UN General Assembly adopted with consen- sus a Pakistan-introduced reso- lution on cooperation with the OIC, urging the United Nations to enhance collaboration with the Saudi-dominated bloc in ar- eas of mutual interest. Under the terms of the resolu- tion, “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Organi- sation of Islamic Cooperation”, the 193-member assembly af- firmed the UN and OIC shared a common goal of promoting and facilitating the Middle East peace process with the goal to establish a just and comprehen- sive peace in the region. It also affirmed it shared a common objective of fostering peaceful and political solutions to other conflicts in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and Security Council resolutions. In its operative paragraphs, the draft recognises the con- tinuing cooperation between the Islamic Organisation and United Nations entities, in- cluding the Office of the Unit- ed Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Entity for Gen- der Equality and the Empower- ment of Women (UN-Women). OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha is in Pakistan and has held meetings with Paki- stani and AJK leaders. Yesterday he laid a wreath at the Jammu and Kashmir Monument, built in memory of Kashmiri martyrs and their struggle. The Muslim world body al- ways raised voice against the Indian atrocities in IIOJK and supported the right to self-de- termination of Kashmiris as per UN resolutions. In the 48th session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers held in Islamabad in March this year, the Muslim world body had adopted a joint action plan on Kashmir issue. Under the plan, the OIC coun- tries agreed to raise the Kash- mir issue in their bilateral en- gagements with India and underscore respect for the fun- damental human rights of the Kashmiri people, as well as lend support to monitor human rights violations in the IIOJK. On May 16, 2022, the OIC Gen- eral Secretariat expressed deep concern over India’s attempts to redraw the electoral boundaries of the IIOJK altering the demo- graphic structure of the territo- ry and violating the rights of the Kashmiri people. The OIC in a strongly worded statement condemned the Indi- an illegal move in IIOJK which is an internationally accepted disputed territory. The “delim- itation” exercises are in direct contravention of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and international law, including the 4th Geneva Convention. Conflict resolution between member states is the core task the OIC has performed, but with mixed results. Soon after its in- ception, the OIC, along with the Arab League, was tasked with resolving the conflict between the Palestine Liberation Organi- sation (PLO) and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz and President Jamal Abdul Nasir led a joint mission to Amman in 1970 and successfully resolved the issue.