Kashmir issue discussed with OIC officials at ISSI

Vice Chairman Ambassador (r) Syed Abrar Hussain, General Manager Naufil Shahrukh, and Secretary General IPS-Working Group on Kashmir (IPS-WGK) and Former AJ&K Minister Farzana Yaqoob, visited Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) on October 11, 2023 to take part in a roundtable discussion with Ambassador Yousef Aldobeay, Special Envoy of the OIC Secretary General for Jammu and Kashmir / Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs, who was accompanied by Ambassador Hassan Ali Hassan, director for legal department at the OIC and other officials. 

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Aldobeay stressed on the need to raise awareness over the Jammu and Kashmir dispute that concerns Muslims around the world. He reaffirmed OIC’s abiding support for the Kashmir cause and added that the OIC had never supported India’s illegal actions in the occupied territory.

Ambassador Syed Abrar Hussain suggested that just like in the case of OIC, the UN should also have a specially designated representative on Kashmir Issue within its house.

Farzana Yaqoob also spoke passionately, maintaining that apparently India is enjoying a free hand to do anything it wants in the disputed region, including illegal occupation, human rights violations and war crimes, whereas the people of Kashmir are being labelled as terrorists despite having a legitimate right to put up an armed struggle against the imposed oppression. It is also very disappointing that everyone seems to have accepted the false accusation. She stressed that OIC should vehemently uphold that Kashmiris have the legitimate right to retaliate and fight back.

Naufil Shahrukh stressed the need for promoting research and practice in International Law in the Muslim world in a bid to better handle the critical challenges it is faced with. He pointed out that similar to the lines of OIC investing in COMSTECH for education and research in science and technology, it should also play a proactive role in creating a collective platform for international law and policy research in the Muslim world.

OIC, in its charter of 2008, has already declared international law as its priority area while expressing great interest in engaging in its sub-domains like humanitarian law, peacemaking, human rights, terrorism, climate change, etc., he added, and an initiative of launching a research collective can go a long way in the capacity building within the Muslim world on the critically important discipline.