NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday hit back at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) over references to Jammu and Kashmir in a joint communique of its Contact Group, calling them “unwarranted and factually incorrect” and asserting that the grouping has no locus standi to comment on matters that are strictly internal to India.The ministry of external affairs said the entire Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an “integral and inalienable part of India”, adding that “no amount of repetition of politically motivated propaganda can change this reality”.The response came after Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on X that deputy prime minister and foreign minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar had addressed a ministerial meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York.According to Pakistan, Dar urged OIC member states to maintain a “unified position” on Jammu and Kashmir at the United Nations and other international fora. He also reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to a “just and peaceful settlement of the dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people”.The references to Jammu and Kashmir drew a strong response from New Delhi.“India categorically rejects the unwarranted and factually incorrect references to India in the Joint Communique of the so-called OIC Contact Group on Jammu & Kashmir. The OIC has no locus standi to pronounce on matters that are strictly internal to India,” the MEA said in a statement.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal shared the statement on X, reiterating India’s position on the OIC communique.The ministry also questioned the credibility of the grouping over its repeated backing of what it described as politically motivated narratives.“Repeated endorsement of such motivated narratives only raises serious questions on the credibility of OIC,” the MEA said.India further turned its focus on Pakistan, saying the OIC should address terrorism emanating from Pakistani territory instead of providing Islamabad a platform for what New Delhi called “fabricated and motivated propaganda”.“Instead of offering a platform to Pakistan to peddle its fabricated and motivated propaganda, OIC will be better advised to counsel Pakistan, which has a well-documented record of supporting and sponsoring terrorism, to look inwards and address the continuing threat of terrorism emanating from territories under its control,” the MEA said.
