India rejects OIC remarks on Kashmir, calls them Pakistan-driven

New Delhi: India has strongly rejected the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) recent comments on Kashmir, calling them “absurd” and issued at the “behest of Pakistan”.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal criticised the OIC’s statement, saying it ignored the facts of the Pahalgam terror attack and its cross-border linkages. “The OIC statement, issued at the behest of Pakistan, is absurd in its refusal to recognise the facts of the Pahalgam terror attack and its cross-border linkages,” Jaiswal said.

“This is yet another attempt by Pakistan, a country that has been engaged in cross-border terrorism for a long time, to mislead the OIC group,” he added. India also rejected what it termed as the OIC’s interference in its internal affairs.

Earlier, the 57-member OIC had expressed “deep concern over the deteriorating security environment in South Asia” in a joint statement issued in New York. The group termed India’s “baseless allegations against the Islamic Republic of Pakistan” as a key factor escalating tensions in the region.

The OIC also condemned linking terrorism with any country, religion, race or culture, and described the Kashmir dispute as the primary issue affecting peace in South Asia. It said the people of Jammu and Kashmir are being denied their right to self-determination as enshrined in United Nations Security Council resolutions.