Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary General Dr Yousaf Bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen has reiterated OIC’s full support to the people of Kashmir in their legitimate struggle for the fundamental right to self-determination.
Dr Yousaf said this at a seminar and a photo exhibition on Kashmir, jointly organised at the OIC Secretariat on Thursday by the Pakistan Consulate and the OIC in Jeddah. He called on the Indian government to stop using force against the Kashmiri people. In his welcome remarks, Consul General Shehryar Akbar Khan said that the event was organised to mark the illegal entry of Indian force into occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 1947. He urged the international community to support the people of Kashmir in their legitimate struggle against foreign occupation.
A Kashmiri leader Syed Faiz Naqashbandi briefed the audience about prevailing situation and continued human rights violations in the Indian Held Kashmir. He called on international community and the OIC in particular to play its role so that the Kashmiri people could exercise their inherent right of self-determination.
In his concluding remarks, Ambassador of Pakistan to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Khan Hasham bin Saddique thanked the OIC and Saudi Arabia for supporting the cause of Kashmir. He highlighted the plight of the people of Kashmir under foreign occupation and urged the international community to persuade India to end human rights violations. He said that the Government of Pakistan would continue to extend all moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their historic struggle.
Members of the Jeddah Kashmir Committee presented a resolution, calling OIC to redouble its efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue. The photo exhibition and seminar on Kashmir at the OIC Secretariat has become an annual feature for the past five years. The event was well-attended by high-level OIC officials including Ambassador Abdullah Al-Alim, OIC’s Secretary General’s Special Representative on Jammu and Kashmir, Saudi officials, members of diplomatic corps, local dignitaries and representatives of Pakistan community.
