NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the issue is strictly internal to the country, New Delhi asserted on Saturday, in reaction to a resolution on the matter by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi.
“As regards the resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, our stand is consistent and well known. We reaffirm that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India,” Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Raveesh Kumar said.
On Saturday, a day after external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj spoke as a “guest of honour” at the OIC foreign ministers’ plenary session, the 57-member grouping of Islamic states on Saturday reaffirmed “its unwavering support to the Kashmiri people.”
But in a resolution adopted by the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, “the OIC member states reiterated that J&K remains the core dispute between Pakistan and India and its resolution is indispensable... The Pakistan-sponsored resolution “also condemned... recent wave of Indian terrorism in Occupied J&K and expressed deep concern over the atrocities and human rights violations in IoK.”
However, ABP news quoted Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, as saying: “I think the OIC has sent a very clear and positive sign to India, to the people of India that the OIC appreciates the relationship with India and looks forward to strengthening such a relationship to a point where we can embrace India one day in the OIC.”