JEDDAH (Kashmir English): Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) organized a ‘Special Event and Photo Exhibition’ to mark the Kashmir Solidarity Day, at the OIC General Secretariat here on Sunday.
Secretary General, OIC, Hissein Brahim Taha graced the event as the chief guest while the OIC Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, Ambassador Yousef Al Dobeiye, Assistant Secretaries General of the Council, officers of the General Secretariat, Permanent Representatives of the Council Member States, envoys and officials from the diplomatic corps in Jeddah, media representatives, members of Kashmir Committee in Jeddah and a large number of people from Pakistani and Kashmiri diaspora attended the event.
At the outset of the proceedings, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the OIC, Ambassador Syed Mohammad Fawad Sher thanked the OIC Secretary General for gracing the occasion.
Pak Ambassador on Kashmir
The Ambassador stated that Pakistan and Kashmiris around the globe observe Kashmir Solidarity Day on 5th of February every year, to express their unwavering moral, diplomatic and political support for the just struggle of their Kashmiri brothers and sisters for their right to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Charter and the relevant OIC and United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Drawing the parallels between the situations in Palestine and occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Ambassador said that even the worst forms of war crimes and atrocities have not been able to dampen the courage and the spirits of the Kashmiri and Palestinian people.
He appreciated the OIC for its long-standing principled stand on Jammu and Kashmir and called on the OIC to accelerate its efforts to amplify the voice of the Kashmiri people at global forums.
In his keynote address, the OIC Secretary-General reaffirmed the Council’s categorical and unequivocal support for the Kashmir cause and stressed that the OIC, through its various mechanisms would continue to highlight the Kashmir cause and hold India accountable for its usurpation of the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.
The mechanisms, he added, include the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir, the OIC Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir and the IPHRC’s Standing Mechanism to monitor the human rights situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The OIC Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, Ambassador Yousef Al Dobeiye also addressed the gathering and reiterated OIC’s commitment to the Kashmiris right to self-determination.
Chairman Kashmir Committee Jeddah, Masood Puri, also spoke on the occasion and lamented India’s growing highhandedness and intransigence in the occupied region.
Consul General of Pakistan in Jeddah, Khalid Majid, delivered the concluding remarks and recapitulated Pakistan’s firm position on the Kashmir issue.
The Secretary General and the participants also witnessed the ‘Photo Exhibition’ depicting the gross human rights violations being perpetrated by the Indian occupation forces in the IIOJK.
