Jeddah [Saudi Arabia]: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has once again raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, reiterating its support for what it called the people’s “right to self-determination.”
In a statement issued on Monday, the OIC General Secretariat expressed “full solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their legitimate quest for the right to self-determination.”
“The General Secretariat, in accordance with the resolutions of the Islamic Summit and the Council of Foreign Ministers, reaffirms its unwavering support for the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their just struggle for their fundamental human rights, including their inalienable right to self-determination. It also urges India to respect the fundamental human rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the statement read.
It further called for a “final settlement” of the Kashmir issue in line with relevant UN Security Council resolutions and urged the international community to ensure their implementation.
However, the OIC has remained silent on several other issues, including Pakistan’s attack in Kabul, the killing of Afghan cricketers by Pakistani forces, and the enforced disappearances of Baloch activists. It also failed to comment on the recent protests in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) against the Shehbaz Sharif government.
Earlier, European writer and West Asia expert Michael Arizanti sharply criticised the OIC and Arab states for ignoring violence and human rights abuses in PoK, accusing them of “shameful hypocrisy” in overlooking the killing of Kashmiri Muslims by Pakistani authorities.
In a blog published in The Times of Israel, Arizanti questioned why “the death of a Palestinian in Gaza is a global headline, but the death of a Kashmiri Muslim in Muzaffarabad is a footnote.”
“The OIC, so quick to condemn India over Kashmir, has not uttered a single word about the massacre in PoK,” he wrote. “Where are the imams, scholars, and ministers who thunder about Gaza every Friday? The hypocrisy is as transparent as it is shameful.”
Arizanti pointed out that at least 10 people were killed and over 100 injured when Pakistani forces opened fire on protesters demanding affordable electricity and flour in Muzaffarabad, Dheerkot, Rawalakot, and Mirpur.
“The massacre of Muslim civilians in PoK has barely stirred a whisper,” Arizanti wrote, accusing both Western and Islamic nations of selective outrage and double standards.
