Kashmir priorty item on OIC agenda, says envoy

Islamabad, Mar 19 (UNI) The Jammu and Kashmir issue will remain an important agenda of the Organisation of Islamic Conference as it concerns the entire Muslim World, an OIC official said today.

''The Kashmir issue will remain a priority item on the OIC's agenda as the Muslim World is committed to its early and just solution,'' the organisation's Assistant Secretary-General Ambassador Ezzat Kamel Mufti told reporters here.

Mr Mufti, who is also the Special Representative of the OIC Secretary General on Jammu and Kashmir, said the unresolved issue continued to trigger concern among the Islamic countries, which wanted its early and just solution.

The Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers held in Baku in June, 2006 had mandated Mr Mufti to facilitate the implementation of OIC's decisions on Jammu &Kashmir and early resolution of this issue, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said here today.

''The Baku Conference had called upon India to involve the representatives of the Kashmiri people in the dialogue process,'' she said.

Ms Aslam added that the special representative had also been asked to work towards achieving a just and lasting settlement of the issue, in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, and in the interim, to improve the human rights situation and withdraw security forces from Kashmir.

The special representative assured Pakistani leaders that he would make all efforts to highlight the longstanding struggle of the Kashmiri people to realise their right to self-determination.

During his meetings with President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri, Mr Mufti exchanged views on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and complained of not being allowed to visit Srinagar.

Today, Mr Mufti said he had been briefed in detail on the ongoing composite dialogue process between Pakistan and India and the efforts being made to resolve all outstanding issues between the two countries.

UNI