ISLAMABAD - Secretary General of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Dr Yousaf Bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, Monday reiterated the OIC’s full support to the people of Kashmir in their legitimate struggle for the fundamental right to self-determination.

He said this while presiding over seminar and photo exhibition on Kashmir at the OIC Secretariat, jointly organised by the Pakistan Consulate Jeddah and the OIC, a message received here said.

The secretary general called on the Indian government to stop using force against the Kashmiri people. He said the issue of Jammu and Kashmir has been on one of the most important preoccupations of OIC over three decades. He condemned the human rights violations of the Kashmiri people perpetrated by India. He recalled his recent meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan in which Kashmir was the first issue discussed between the two leaders. He had also assured Prime Minister Imran Khan of OIC’s unflinching support on the Kashmir issue. 

In his welcome speech, Consul General Shehryar Akbar Khan said Kashmir Black Day event was organized to mark the illegal entry of Indian force into occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 1947.

The consul general thanked the OIC, Saudi Arabia and the member states and the international community for supporting the cause of the people of Kashmir in their legitimate struggle against foreign occupation.

He said the government of Pakistan will continue to extend all moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their historic struggle. He highlighted the plight of the people of Kashmir under foreign occupation and urged the international community to persuade India to end human rights violations and support the UN Report’s recommendation to constitute a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to investigate the human rights violations in Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir.

Ghulam Muhammad Safi, True Representative of Kashmiri People, briefed the audience about prevailing situation and continued human rights violations in the Indian occupied Kashmir. He called on international community and the OIC in particular to play its role so that Kashmiri people can exercise their inherent right of self-determination. Members of the Kashmir Committee Jeddah presented a resolution to secretary general, calling OIC to redouble its efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue.

The photo exhibition and seminar on Indian occupied Kashmir at the OIC Secretariat has become an annual feature for the past five years. The event was well attended by high level OIC officials including Ambassador Abdullah Al-Alim, OIC’s Secretary General’s Special Representative on Jammu and Kashmir, Saudi officials, members of diplomatic corps, local dignitaries and representatives of Pakistan community. The consulate also organized other events to commemorate Kashmir Black Day this year.