Mirpur (AJK)
The OIC Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, Ambassador Yousef M. Al Dobeay-led 6-member delegation of Organization Of Islamic Countries Monday began five days visit to Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said.
During the visit, commenced from March 2 to 6, 2020, the delegation will be briefed on the deteriorating human rights situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K), the sources told this Correspondent on Monday.
The Special Envoy and his accompanying delegation members will visit the Line of Control (LOC) in Azad Jammu Kashmir to get first-hand knowledge about the loss of lives and property caused by indiscriminate firing of the Indian forces, sais the sources The Special Envoy’s visit is of particular significance in the backdrop of India’s unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019 and the strong message on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute contained in the Resolutions and Communiqués of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) and Summit meetings.
The OIC has extended its steadfast support to the Kashmiri people in their just struggle for the inalienable right to self-determination. The Organization has a dedicated Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir since 1994.
Since 5 August 2019, the OIC has remained actively seized of the deteriorating situation in IOJ&K. The OIC and its human rights body, Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC), have issued several statements condemning India’s actions and reiterating their principled position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. The OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir has met twice since 5 August 2019.
The Communiqué issued by the Contact Group’s meeting in New York at the Ministerial level reflected OIC’s strong commitment to the Kashmir cause. Under its Standing Mechanism to monitor human rights situation in IOJ&K, the IPHRC also held an unprecedented ‘Open Discussion’ on the worsening situation in IOJ&K in November 2019. The Kashmiris and the people of Pakistan value OIC’s role in espousing the cause of Jammu and Kashmir at the international level, the sources added.
PTI AJK Central Secretary Information Ershad Mahmood, meanwhile, welcomed the visit of the OIC delegation to Pakistan and AJK under the leadership of the OIC Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, Ambassador Yousef M. Al Dobeay to assess the current Kashmir situation and most particularly the massive human rights abuses by the Indian occupation forces in the Indian-held Jammu Kashmir state especially in the backdrop of August 05 forced and sinister act of India denying the special status of the internationally-acknowledged disputed Jammu Kashmir State.
`Talking to this Correspondent on Monday, Ershad, also a seasoned Kashmiri intellectual and analyst, hoped that the OIC will gear up its due vibrant role to get the human rights violations stopped in the IOJK and help resolve the Kashmir issue in line with the international norms.—APP
