The 45th Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) was concluded in Dhaka on 6 May 2018. The Pakistani delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua.

One of the main highlights of this Session was the strong support demonstrated by the OIC member states to the just cause of the Kashmiri people through adoption of resolutions and endorsement of the report of the recently held OIC Contact Group on Jammu & Kashmir.

Both the resolutions and the report of the Contact Group reaffirmed OIC’s support for the realisation of the right of Kashmiri people to self-determination in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions. The Contact Group report drew attention to the rise in gross and systematic human rights violations in the Indian occupied Jammu & Kashmir, terming them as crimes against humanity. The report also rejected attempts to equate the peaceful indigenous struggle for self-determination with terrorism. The Memorandum presented by the True Representatives of the Kashmiri people to the OIC Secretary General was annexed to the report. The Foreign Secretary, in her statement at the Conference, as well as during a brainstorming session on humanitarian challenges and in her meetings inter alia, focused on the issue of Jammu & Kashmir. She also thanked the OIC member states for their consistent support to the cause.

The Foreign Secretary also spoke at length about the tragic plight of the Rohingya Muslims and Palestinians and expressed Pakistan’s full solidarity with them.

Just before the conclusion of the Conference, the host country circulated text of Dhaka Declaration. It only reflected the views of the host country, and therefore, issued under its own responsibility, signifying that the text was neither discussed nor negotiated by participating States. The Declaration is without prejudice to the well established positions of OIC member states and the organization, as enshrined in the CFM and Summit documents.

On the sidelines of the Conference, the Foreign Secretary met OIC Secretary General, Foreign Ministers of Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Minister of State of Uganda, her counterparts from Morocco, Malaysia, Tunis, Indonesia and heads of delegation of several other OIC countries.