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ISLAMABAD: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation Contact Group at a UN General Assembly sidelines meeting in New York reaffirmed support for Kashmiris&rsquo; right to self-determination, Pakistan&rsquo;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The session, chaired by the OIC Secretary-General, was attended by foreign ministers and senior officials from Azerbaijan, Pakistan, T&uuml;rkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Niger.&nbsp; Pakistani Prime Minister&rsquo;s Special Assistant Syed Tariq Fatemi, along with representatives of Kashmiri organizations, briefed the group on the latest developments in the region. The Foreign Office (FO) said the OIC &ldquo;reaffirmed their unwavering support for the Kashmiri people&#39;s inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.&rdquo; It said the ministers &ldquo;expressed solidarity with the government and people of Pakistan, and indicated their deep concern over the recent military escalation in the South Asia region.&nbsp; This included the &ldquo;unjustified strikes carried out on multiple locations in Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and stressed the need to exercise maximum restraint and avoid actions that would destabilize the region.&rdquo; They &ldquo;welcomed the ceasefire between the two sides&rdquo; and &ldquo;appreciated the constructive efforts made by all countries to mediate.&rdquo;&nbsp; Peace contingent upon final settlementThe FO said that developments since the April 22 Pahalgam attack indicate that &ldquo;durable peace and stability in South Asia will remain contingent upon the final settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and aspirations of the Kashmiri people.&rdquo; The communiqu&eacute; voiced concern over around 2,800 arrests and about three dozen houses demolished in Jammu and Kashmir. It also noted serious concerns over the detention of Kashmiri leader Shabbir Ahmed Shah, and &ldquo;denounced the curbs on the religious congregations at Srinagar&#39;s historic Jamia Masjid and Eidgah.&rdquo; The FO added that the ministers &ldquo;reiterated their rejection of illegal and unilateral actions taken by India on 5 August 2019,&rdquo; and stressed that &ldquo;any electoral exercise in IIOJK [Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir] &hellip; cannot serve as a substitute to the grant of the right to self-determination,&rdquo; and &ldquo;denounced the curbs on the religious congregations at Srinagar&#39;s historic Jamia Masjid and Eidgah.&rdquo; Fact-finding mission requestedThe OIC directed its Observer Missions in New York and Geneva to circulate the Joint Communiqu&eacute; to member states and UN officials to &ldquo;highlight the plight of the Kashmiri people at various international fora,&rdquo; and &ldquo;further requested the OIC-Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission to dispatch a fact-finding mission to Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Line of Control,&rdquo; said the FO.&nbsp; The communiqu&eacute; welcomed the OIC Special Envoy&rsquo;s April visit to Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and urged the OIC Human Rights Commission to send a fact-finding mission to the Line of Control.&nbsp; Member states &ldquo;reiterated their rejection of illegal and unilateral actions taken by India on 5 August 2019,&rdquo; and stressed that any elections &ldquo;cannot serve as a substitute&rdquo; for self-determination, and urged India to release political prisoners and repeal &ldquo;restrictive and draconian laws,&rdquo; the ministry said. They urged India to &ldquo;improve the human rights situation in IIOJK Kashmiri political prisoners, lift the ban on the outlawed Kashmiri political parties, repeal all restrictive and draconian laws.&rdquo; OIC further called on India to &ldquo;implement the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.&rdquo;

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, left, and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attend a multilateral meeting during the 80th United Nations General Assembl

Asia

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir, meeting in New York, reaffirmed its support for Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, urged India to end rights abuses, and implement United Nations resolutions.

OIC urges India to end rights abuses in Indian-occupied Kashmir 

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will lead Pakistan&rsquo;s delegation to the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, set to begin on September 22, the foreign office said on Sunday.&nbsp;Accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, along with several cabinet ministers and senior government officials, PM Sharif is scheduled to address the high-level segment of the gathering, which will bring together world leaders for discussions on pressing global issues.&nbsp;During his address, PM Sharif will highlight Pakistan&rsquo;s stance on the prolonged occupation and denial of self-determination in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, as well as the Palestinian territories. A key focus of his speech will be the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with a call for the international community to take urgent and decisive action.&nbsp;The prime minister will also emphasize Pakistan&rsquo;s perspectives on regional security, climate change, counterterrorism, Islamophobia, and the implementation of the United Nations&#39; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1969648323490681060&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=687b137dc7b5edf620adb31a7f59618ab6964437&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 899px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>&nbsp;In addition to his address, Sharif is expected to participate in several high-level events on the sidelines of the UNGA, including meetings of the UN Security Council, the Global Development Initiative (GDI), and a special session on climate action.&nbsp;Sharif will also engage in a series of bilateral meetings with world leaders and senior UN officials, reaffirming Pakistan&rsquo;s commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and sustainable development. Notably, Pakistan is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.&nbsp;The foreign office emphasized that Sharif&#39;s participation at the UNGA will underscore Pakistan&rsquo;s continued commitment to multilateralism and its longstanding role in promoting international peace and development.&nbsp;Palestine, US ties, and Syria talks on agenda: ErdoganIn a similar vein, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced that he will raise the issue of Israel&rsquo;s actions in Gaza at the UNGA. He called for broader recognition of Palestine to accelerate efforts toward a two-state solution.&nbsp;Erdogan also noted that discussions with US President Donald Trump would focus on trade and defense cooperation. Additionally, he plans to meet Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during his visit.

Foreign Affairs

PM Sharif to attend high-level UNGA events, hold bilateral meetings, and discuss regional security, climate action, and development.

Articles tagged with "Kashmir issue"

OIC urges India to end rights abuses in Indian-occupied Kashmir

Kashmir, Gaza on agenda as Pakistan PM set to participate at UN General Assembly