OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu reaffirmed Tuesday the organization’s full support and solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking after inaugurating a photo exhibition highlighting the political and human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah, Ihsanoglu called on India to end its human rights violations in the area. Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Naeem Khan, also participated in the inaugural function.

The exhibition is a joint initiative of the OIC, Pakistan Consulate and Kashmir Committee in Jeddah to commemorate the Kashmiri “Black Day.”

“A delegation from the OIC will soon be visiting Pakistan and Azad Kashmir to assess the current situation and I hope that the Indian government will also allow an OIC fact-finding mission to visit Indian Kashmir,” he said, adding that the OIC will play its role as much as it can to solve the issue.

Ihsanoglu said: “These pictures of violence and human rights violations in Kashmir are living proof of the atrocities committed by Indian Armed Forces on innocent Kashmiri people, which is deeply regrettable.” These exhibitions will help the world know about the misery and torture of Kashmiri people, he added.

He congratulated the Consulate General of Pakistan for arranging the photo exhibition highlighting the continuously deteriorating political and human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Khan said Pakistan will continue to extend political, moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiri brethren. “This gathering here is a manifestation of commitment and solidarity with our Kashmiri brethren. Kashmir issue has been on the OIC’s agenda since the founding of the OIC and the torture, atrocities and forced occupation of Kashmir by Indian troops have not succeeded in making people give up their demands,” he added. He also expressed his gratitude to the Saudi leadership for their continued support to Pakistan on the Kashmir dispute.

“Pakistan will continue with its peaceful efforts to gain their right to self-determination as guaranteed by the UN Resolution for Kashmiri people. Kashmir is the oldest issue on the UN agenda,” he said.

Consul General Aftab A. Khokher briefly shared the history of Kashmir Black Day and said the key objective of Tuesday’s event was to highlight the human rights violations in Indian Kashmir.

“The exhibition is a call on the international community to play its role to end the violations and also to resolve the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiri people,” he said.