India rejects OIC’s ‘unwarranted references’ on Jammu & Kashmir

Geneva, Mar 4 (PTI) India has assailed the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for its “unwarranted references” to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and for allowing Pakistan to hijack and misuse its platform for carrying out Islamabad’s “nefarious agenda” against New Delhi.

Exercising its right of reply at the High-Level Segment of 52nd session of the Human Rights Council, Seema Pujani, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, outrightly rejected the reference to the statement made by the OIC representative.

“As regards the OIC statement, we reject the unwarranted references to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” Pujani said in a statement on Friday.

“The fact is that the entire territories of the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and shall always be part of India. Pakistan is in illegal occupation of Indian territory,” she said.

Instead of calling upon its member Pakistan to give up state-sponsored terrorism and to lift its occupation of Indian territory, the OIC has “let Pakistan hijack and misuse its platform for carrying out its nefarious agenda of engaging in malicious propaganda against India,” Pujani said.

India has previously criticised the Jeddah-based OIC for its attempt to interfere and meddle in India’s internal affairs as completely unacceptable.

A spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs has said that the OIC has already lost its credibility by taking a blatantly communal, partisan and factually incorrect approach to issues.