The secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said on Sunday Kashmir was a “priority” for the intergovernmental organization of Muslim-majority nations, as he visited areas near the Line of Control (LoC) that divides the disputed Kashmir region, claimed by both Pakistan and neighboring India.
Hissein Brahim Taha arrived in Pakistan on Saturday morning on a three-day official visit, his first bilateral trip to the South Asian nation since assuming office in November last year.
Headquartered in Jeddah, the OIC is the second-largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations, and has long supported Pakistan in its efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with United Nations resolutions. This includes the formation of an OIC contact group in 1994 to support the struggle of the people of Indian-administered Kashmir in their right to self-determination.
During Sunday’s visit to the LOC, Taha laid a wreath at the Jammu and Kashmir monument in Muzaffarabad, visited the LOC Chakothi sector, and met with families of victims of cross-border firing, the foreign office said in a statement.
“OIC’s priorities included the Kashmir issue and I have come to Pakistan and AJK [Azad Jammu and Kashmir] on a visit to draw the attention of the international world to the issue of Kashmir,” Taha told reporters in Muzaffarabad.
The LOC runs 742km (460 miles) and acts as part of the de facto border between India and Pakistan. The military frontline, which runs through inhospitable terrain, has separated hundreds of families and even divided villages and mountains. It is often the site of cross-border shelling and skirmishes between the militaries of the two nuclear-armed nations.
“I have come with the members of the OIC contact group on Kashmir from the brotherly Islamic countries and visited areas to observe and assess the situation with their own eyes and also met with the victims of the Indian army atrocities,” Taha said, adding that his delegation would inform member countries about the situation on the ground in Kashmir upon its return home.
“It is our duty and responsibility to solve this problem, and raise awareness of the international community and OIC is trying to find a peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue,” Taha added.
Speaking on the occasion, AJK President Barrister Sultan Mahmood said the visit of the OIC delegation was a “positive” step towards resolving the Kashmir issue.
“There will be an expression of solidarity with the Kashmiris who have been suffering from Indian oppression for a long time,” he said. “The OIC Secretary-General visited the LOC areas and refugee camps there to assess the situation and show solidarity with the Indian shelling victims.”
Last week, Pakistan’s new army chief General Asim Munir also visited the LOC and said the military was ready to defend “every inch of our motherland” if attacked.
The two South Asian nuclear powers both claim the Kashmir region in full, but rule only parts, and have fought two of their three wars over the area.
Both sides often accuse each other of breaching a 2003 ceasefire pact by shelling and firing across the LoC. Since early 2021, the border has been mostly quiet, following the renewal of a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.
