ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said a resolution adopted by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at a high-level meeting in Abu Dhabi this weekend had endorsed Pakistan's stance on the disputed Kashmir region.
In light of a recent flare-up of tensions between India and Pakistan last week, Qureshi had decided to skip the OIC’s 46th council of foreign ministers because his Indian counterpart had been invited to the event as a guest of honour.
On Saturday, Qureshi said in a Twitter post that the OIC had “endorsed Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir” and “condemned Indian terrorism in Kashmir.”
“The OIC, recognising Pakistan's right to self defence, denounced Indian aggression,” he said.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars since they gained independence from the British in 1947, two of them over the disputed Kashmir Valley that they both claim in full but rule in part.
In a statement released on Saturday night, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said OIC member states had adopted a new resolution sponsored by Pakistan, which expressed grave concern over the “Indian violation of Pakistani airspace; affirmed Pakistan’s right to self-defence; and urged India to refrain from the threat or use of force.”
“This OIC resolution on regional peace and security in South Asia also welcomed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s renewed offer of dialogue to India and the goodwill gesture of handing over the Indian pilot,” the statement said.
The OIC also elected Pakistan as a member of its Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission from the Asian region.
On Saturday, tensions between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan appeared to cool down after Pakistan handed back a captured Indian fighter pilot on Friday night. But shelling continued across the Line of Control border that divides Kashmir Valley into two, one administered by Pakistan, the other by India.
Hostilities escalated rapidly last month following a suicide car bombing in which at least 40 Indian paramilitary police were killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan-based Jaish-e Mohammad Islamist group claimed the bombing and India promised a “strong response.”
Indian warplanes carried out airstrikes on Tuesday inside Pakistan, claiming it had hit militant camps. Pakistan retaliated on Wednesday with its own aerial mission, bringing the nations to the brink of war.
