OIC should use its influence to ensure Kashmiris’ right to self-determination: AJK President Sultan Mehmood
Islamabad: President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry, has urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to use its influence to help the people of Jammu and Kashmir achieve their right to self-determination.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the AJK President made these remarks during a meeting with the Assistant Secretary General of the OIC and its Special Envoy on Jammu and Kashmir, Ambassador Yousef Muhammad Aldobeay, in Islamabad.
Barrister Sultan said that India is committing genocide of unarmed Kashmiris in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), following an Israeli-style model. He added that Indian occupation forces are involved in the mass killing of civilians and sexual violence against women. He emphasized that the entire Hurriyat leadership has been illegally imprisoned for raising their voice against India’s brutal occupation.
He further said that since the unilateral and illegal abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, India has turned Kashmir into an open-air prison, depriving the people of all fundamental rights. These actions, he stressed, constitute a serious violation of international law and human rights.
The AJK President called on the OIC and Muslim countries to play a proactive role in resolving the Kashmir dispute. He noted that Kashmiris have continued their peaceful freedom struggle for over seven decades, sacrificing hundreds of thousands of lives. No power in the world can stop them from continuing their just movement, he asserted.
He urged the OIC to intensify efforts to highlight the Kashmir issue globally, to ensure the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, and to help stop ongoing human rights violations in the occupied territory. He said the OIC has always supported the just cause of the Kashmiri people.
Barrister Sultan also warned that the unresolved Kashmir dispute poses a nuclear threat to South Asia, as both India and Pakistan are nuclear-armed nations. Any miscalculation could escalate into a full-scale war.
He strongly condemned the ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza and the massacre of innocent Palestinians by Zionist forces. He also highlighted India’s attempts to change the demographic composition of IIOJK to turn the Muslim majority into a minority.
In response, Ambassador Yousef Aldobeay reiterated the OIC’s continued support for the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination. He affirmed that the OIC has raised its voice against Indian atrocities in Kashmir and will continue to do so more effectively in the future.
He invited President Sultan Mehmood to attend the upcoming OIC Council of Foreign Ministers’ conference to be held in Istanbul this June.
President Sultan expressed his gratitude to the OIC delegation for visiting Azad Jammu and Kashmir and showing solidarity with the Kashmiri people.
