The Kashmir issue is not on the agenda of a two-day meeting of foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) being held in Niger’s capital Niamey from Friday, in what is seen as a snub to Pakistan by the grouping’s Saudi leadership.
The OIC statements made no mention of Kashmir in the agenda announced in Riyadh, Daily Dawn newspaper reported on Thursday.
Pakistan’s request for a meeting of the contact group on the Kashmir issue was also declined, the paper reported.
Pakistan is being represented at the meeting by foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who left Islamabad on Wednesday for participating in the OIC meeting.
Before leaving for Niger, however, Qureshi told journalists he would raise the Kashmir issue and Islamophobia at the two-day meeting.
“I will focus on the Kashmir issue and Islamophobia at the meeting. We will discuss the issues faced by the Muslim Ummah (nation) at the meeting,” he said.
The foreign minister said that on the sidelines of the meeting, he will also hold bilateral parleys with his counterparts from the Islamic countries. “The OIC members will give their positions on the international issues and efforts would be made to evolve a joint stand by the Muslim-majority countries,” he added.
Qureshi said the OIC members already know about what he alleged was a “wave of terror” by India in Kashmir. “There is a need to press India to stop the bloodshed and implement the UN resolutions in the occupied territory,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Qureshi said the OIC members already know about what he alleged was a “wave of terror” by India in Kashmir. “There is a need to press India to stop the bloodshed and implement the UN resolutions in the occupied territory,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}In August, Qureshi had asked the OIC to “stop dilly-dallying” on the convening of a meeting of its Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) on Kashmir, angering the grouping’s Saudi leadership.
“If you cannot convene it, then I’ll be compelled to ask Prime Minister Imran Khan to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir and support the oppressed Kashmiris,” he had said at the time.
In his statement, OIC Secretary-General Dr Yousef Al-Othaimeen has said that the Niamey meeting will discuss the Palestinian cause, the fight against violence, extremism and terrorism, Islamophobia and defamation of religion, Muslim minorities and communities in non-member states, fundraising for the Rohingya case at the International Court of Justice, as well as the promotion of dialogue among civilisations, cultures and religions, and other emerging matters.
The agenda of the Niamey meeting also includes discussion on the political, humanitarian, economic, social and cultural and other issues related to science and technology, the media and the progress made in the implementation of the “OIC-2025: Plan of Action” document. It would also feature a brainstorming session on “Security and Humanitarian Challenges Confronting African Sahel States Members of the OIC”.