On Pakistan’s call, an Emergency virtual meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu & Kashmir is being held at the Ministerial level, today, to take up the worsening situation in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K).

While the meeting will be chaired by OIC Secretary General, Dr. Yousaf Al-Othaimeen, Foreign Minister of Pakistan Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi will apprise the participants of the prevailing situation in IOJ&K and brief on various aspects of the issue.

The Foreign Ministers of other Contact Group member countries, i.e. Azerbaijan, Niger, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and the representatives of the OIC-Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) are expected to attend. The AJK President and True Representatives of the Kashmiri People will also participate in the virtual meeting.

The OIC Contact Group on Jammu & Kashmir was formed in 1994 to voice OIC’s point of view and coordinate joint Islamic action on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. This is the third meeting of the Contact Group since India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 in IOJ&K.

The OIC has steadfastly supported the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their legitimate struggle for the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination. In addition to the meetings of the Contact Group, the OIC and its human rights body, IPHRC, have consistently pronounced themselves on the issue — condemning and rejecting India’s illegal and unilateral actions while reiterating support to the beleaguered people of IOJ&K.

The OIC Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, Ambassador Yousef Al-Dobeay, visited Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir in March 2020 to reaffirm OIC’s support and solidarity with the Kashmiri people and acquire first-hand information on the situation along the Line of Control.