India regrets OIC Kashmir issue comment

New Delhi, June 27 : The Ministry of External Affairs has expressed its regret over a statement issued by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers on Jammu and Kashmir.

Describing Kashmir as an internal matter of the country, the ministry said that OIC Council of Foreign Ministers has no locus standi in this and other matters concerning India's internal affairs.

The OIC had commented on Jammu and Kashmir and India's internal affairs in Declaration and Resolutions adopted by it at its 35th session held at Kampala, Uganda between June 18 and 20.

The meeting, co-chaired by OIC Secretary General, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, and Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was attended by Ali Babacan, the Foreign Minister of Turkey, Dr. Nizar Obeid Madani, and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Sam Kutesa, Foreign Minister of Uganda and Aichatou Mindaoudou, Foreign Minister of Niger.

A delegation of the True Representatives of Kashmiri people was led by Agha Syed Hassan Al Moosvi Al-Safvi, representative of Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) and comprised of Kashmiri representatives from both sides of Kashmir.

During the meeting, Ihsanoglu reaffirmed the OIC's commitment to the Kashmiri struggle and stressed the need to achieve a just and peaceful resolution of the long standing issue.

The Foreign Ministers of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Niger also expressed their support for Kashmiris' right to self-determination.

In his address to the OIC Contact Group on Kashmir, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi informed the meeting about the latest efforts of the Government of Pakistan for a meaningful, constructive and result-oriented dialogue with India for the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

He emphasized that a final settlement of the Kashmir dispute must be acceptable to all parties- Pakistan, India and the Kashmiri people. He called for the expeditious implementation of the recommendations of the report of the OIC Secretary General's Special Representative on Jammu and Kashmir.

Agha Syed Hassan Al Moosvi Al-Safvi, representative of the Chairman APHC apprised the meeting of the latest human rights situation in Kashmir and called for regular monitoring of the human rights situation in Kashmir by the OIC and immediate inquiry into the issue of mass graves discovered in Kashmir.

The True Representatives of the Kashmiri people presented a Memorandum to the Contact Group which contained proposals for both the OIC member states as well as the OIC Secretary General in order to peacefully resolve the Kashmir dispute.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said that it rejected all such references and resolutions.

ANI