JEDDAH, 7 February 2006 — Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), has described Kashmir as “one of the most important issues on the OIC agenda.”
Speaking at the Kashmir Solidarity Day held at the residence of Pakistan Consul General Masood Akhtar on Sunday, Ihsanoglu reiterated the stand on the Kashmir issue that the OIC had been pleading since its inception and said as a personal commitment he was also supporting the just cause of Kashmir.
“Developments taking place for the last few years between India and Pakistan will surely help resolve the problem amicably,” he said.
“The OIC is launching a campaign to stop the publishing of the blasphemous caricature and is pursuing the matter with the UN, and European and Islamic countries,” Ihsanoglu said. Syed Ali Geelani, leader of the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference, said it was a good sign to show solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir who were suffering for the last 57 years.
“The Indian Army has been making them victims of the world’s worst atrocities wherein thousands of youth have been killed, tortured and dishonored,” he added.
He appreciated the role of the Pakistan government and its people who renew their resolve to continue their support for struggling Kashmiri brothers in the achievement of their objectives.
“Kashmiri people will only accept those efforts that will give them the right to self determination under the auspices of UN resolutions,” he said, adding that the final disposition of the state of Jammu and Kashmir would be made in accordance with the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the UN auspices.
The UN has so far passed 18 resolutions to which India is a signatory, he said. “The Muslim Ummah should come together and force the Indian government to give the Kashmiris the right of self-determination. As a representative of 130 million Kashmiris, I’ll not accept any other formula or a roadmap or any other option for the solution of the Kashmir issue,” he said.
Kashmir Committee-Jeddah Chairman Mian Khalid reminded that this was the third generation of Kashmiri people who were struggling for freedom.
Akhtar said that when Pakistanis stood united, they got a country and if the Muslims would now forge unity they would definitely get Kashmir. “It’s the time that Muslim Ummah should get united and try to remember their Kashmiri brethren in their prayers and good wishes,” he added.
Earlier, Hasan Masood, vice consul at the Consulate General of Pakistan, read the messages of Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The messages said that all possible political, moral and diplomatic support would be extended to the Kashmiris in solving their problem.
