With Swaraj in attendance, OIC lambasts India on Kashmir policy

Abu Dhabi:- Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the issue is strictly internal to the country, New Delhi asserted Saturday, in reaction to a resolution on the matter by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in its two-day foreign ministers' conclave 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.

Earlier, the Pakistan Foreign Office said that the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC concluded with a resolution that "supported" Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.

"In a resolution, the OIC member states reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir remains the core dispute between Pakistan and India and its resolution is indispensable for the dream for peace in South Asia," it claimed.

The resolution also "expressed deep concern" over the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir, the Pakistan Foreign Office claimed, adding that the resolution also reminded the international community of its obligation to ensure implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on the Kashmir dispute.

The OIC is a grouping of 57 countries, majority of which are Muslim-dominated. It has usually been supportive of Pakistan and, often sided with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the inaugural plenary of the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC on Friday. She was the first Indian minister to address the OIC meeting.

India's participation came despite strong demand by Pakistan to rescind the invitation to Swaraj to address the grouping which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi boycotting the plenary.

Swaraj attended the meeting in Abu Dhabi on March 1 as the guest of honour at the invitation extended by the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates. "We deeply appreciate this historic gesture on the 50th anniversary of their first meeting," the MEA spokesperson said.

The OIC also called for "restraint and de-escalation" in South Asia as well as the need to resolve outstanding issues through peaceful means, the Pakistan Foreign Office said.