ISLAMABAD
Special Envoy to Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General on Kashmir Yousef M Al Dobeay has expressed unwavering support for the Kashmiri people in just struggle for right to self-determination.
He was addressing a joint news conference along with Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi after a meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday.
“We stand with the Kashmiri people and that he will continue to raise their plight at every forum,” the special envoy remarked.
He said his visit to AJ&K was about getting knowledge about the factual and on-ground situation in the valley ahead of the upcoming 15th OIC Islamic Summit to be held in Gambia this December.
He mentioned that Jammu and Kashmir was an old agenda at the platform of OIC, where the organization from time to time strongly condemned the human rights situation in the Indian-held Kashmir.
The OIC envoy recalled that the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir that met on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September reaffirmed the inalienable right to self-determination of the people of J&K.
He said the meeting also expressed deep concern over the persistent curbs on the fundamental rights and freedom of the people in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
The OIC envoy appreciated the government of Pakistan in highlighting the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the international fora and expressed the OIC’s resolve of its continued support to the cause.
Yousef Al-Dobeay expressed concern over the illegal and unilateral actions taken by India on August 5, 2019, that turned the Kashmiris into a marginalized minority.
The OIC’s Special Envoy is in Pakistan and will also visit Azad Jammu and Kashmir to undertake a first-hand assessment of the human rights and the humanitarian situation in the valley.
Previously, he visited the region in November 2021 accompanying the OIC Secretary General and in March 2020.
In his remarks on the occasion, Foreign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi said the Special Envoy to OIC Secretary General on Kashmir will be meeting with leadership of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir during this visit.
He said the special envoy will also travel to the Line of Control where he will receive a briefing on the on ground situation. He will also interact with the Kashmiri representatives to gain better understanding of their plight.
The Foreign Secretary expressed profound gratitude to the OIC for its consistent and unequivocal support for the Kashmir cause.
“He serves as a vital bridge with the OIC General Secretariat, OIC mechanisms like the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) and Islamic Development Bank, OIC Contact Group on Jammu & Kashmir, broader membership of the OIC, other regional and international organizations and the international community, on matters relating to the Jammu & Kashmir dispute,” he added.
Alluding to the Indian atrocities in the illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi said the current Indian leadership is bent upon perpetuating India’s occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.
He pointed out that the entire Hurriyat leadership had arbitrarily been incarcerated over the last several years. The number of detained political activists and human rights defenders comes to around four thousand.
Referring to the illegal and unilateral steps of 5th August 2019, he said the ultimate aim of these steps is to convert Kashmiris into a disempowered minority in their own land.
“India’s unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019 have opened a new chapter of oppression. The ultimate aim of these steps is to convert Kashmiris into a disempowered minority in their own land,” he remarked.
He said the timely and complete implementation of decisions taken under the OIC resolutions and the action plan adopted by the Contact Group will help in alleviating sufferings of Kashmiri people and finding a lasting solution to Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
He said the curbs on fundamental rights and freedoms of the Kashmiri people remained persistent.
The total number of detained political activists and human rights defenders comes to around 4,000, he added.
He mentioned that the Indian authorities had sought the death penalty for one of the most renowned Kashmiri leaders, Yaseen Malik, who was awarded a life sentence, last year. Another Kashmiri leader, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, has spent over half of his 70 years’ life in jails, he added.
