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OIC meet raps India on the knuckles over Kashmir

Foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Conference have once again called for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions and the Shimla agreement.

In the final communique issued at the end of their three-day conference in Doha yesterday evening, the ministers condemned the "continuing massive violations of human rights of the Kashmiri people".

It called upon member-states to "take all necessary measures to persuade India to cease forthwith" such alleged violations.

It called for the respect of the basic human rights of the Kashmiri people, including the right to self-determination.

The communique said, "Any political process or elections held under foreign occupation cannot be a substitute to the exercise of the right of self-determination by the people of Kashmir as is provided in the relevant Security Council resolutions."

The conference supported the initiative taken by Pakistan to "engage India in a dialogue for resolving all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir".

The communique "encourages India to reciprocate positively" to these efforts.

"...A sustained dialogue is essential to address the core of the problems and to remove the basic causes of tension between India and Pakistan," it said.

The conference expressed its "deep concern at the prevailing tension that threatens security and peace in the region as a result of the largescale deployment of Indian troops" in Kashmir.

The communique also urged India and Pakistan to redeploy their forces to 'peace-time locations'.

The conference also commended the efforts being made by the OIC contact group on Kashmir.

The group -- comprising Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Niger -- had held a separate meeting in Doha and its recommendations were adopted by the conference, along with the memorandum submitted by the 'true representatives of the Kashmiri people'.

These 'representatives' included Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir Prime Minister Sultan Mahmood Chaudhary.

Chaudhary had, in a statement issued during the conference, regretted India's decision to deny permission to representatives of the All Party Hurriyat Conference to travel to Doha.

The Indian embassy in Doha, meanwhile, issued a statement yesterday rejecting various statements about India made by Pakistan Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan, who headed the Pakistan delegation to the conference.

UNI

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