The Contact Group of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Jammu and Kashmir met today at the Ministerial level on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly Session in New York. It reviewed the political and security environment and the deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The Contact Group comprises Azerbaijan, Niger, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha chaired the meeting with the participation of Ministers and high-level representatives from members of the Contact Group. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari led the Pakistan delegation.
The President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry attended the meeting as the True Representative of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
In his opening remarks, the OIC Secretary General reaffirmed OIC’s commitment to a peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the OIC Summits and Council of Foreign Ministers. He also presented a report on the implementation of the action plan agreed upon during the last meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir in March 2022 in Islamabad.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari drew attention to the worsening situation in IIOJK since India’s illegal and unilateral actions on 5 August 2019. He stated that the RSS-BJP regime in India was implementing what its rulers ominously called a “Final Solution” for IIOJK. Highlighting the plight of the Kashmiris, he underlined that Indian occupation forces continued to conduct cordon-and-search operations, put down protests violently, indiscriminately use pellet guns, imprison Kashmiri political leaders, abduct and torture children and women, and stage fake encounters in IIOJK.
The Foreign Minister stressed that durable peace and stability in South Asia would remain tense and fragile without a just and lasting solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
Participating Foreign Ministers emphasized the importance of the Jammu and Kashmir issue on the agenda of the OIC and expressed support for the Kashmiri people and their fundamental rights. They called for an early peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
President Azad Jammu and Kashmir briefed the Contact Group about the gross human rights violations in IIOJK and called for OIC’s continued support for the Kashmir cause.
The meeting of the Contact Group concluded with the adoption of a comprehensive Joint communiqué. The Communique unequivocally reaffirmed the OIC’s position and resolutions on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. It firmly repudiated India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 and subsequent steps to alter the demographic structure of the IIOJK. It reiterated complete solidarity with the Kashmiri people in support of their legitimate struggle for self- determination.
The meeting also requested the OIC Secretary-General to continue to monitor the implementation of the action plan on Jammu and Kashmir agreed during the last meeting of the OIC Contact Group on 22 March 2022 in Islamabad and present a report on the situation in IIOJK to the next Meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir.
Islamabad
21 September 2022
Joint Communiqué of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir – 21 September 2022