The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir (J and K) has called for an early and peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

Its meeting was held in Banjul, The Gambia on the sidelines of the 15th Islamic Summit of the OIC, according to a Radio Pakistan’s report.

The participating delegations from different member states expressed support for the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for realization of their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, who led the Pakistan delegation, briefed the Contact Group on India’s ongoing efforts to transform Kashmiris into a disempowered community in their own land.

He apprised the meeting that India was systematically denying the Kashmiri people their fundamental rights and freedoms. Ishaq Dar said the Indian authorities have created an environment of fear and intimidation in the IIOJK to crush dissent.

He urged the international community to take cognizance of the Indian leaders’ provocative statements and unwarranted claims about Azad Jammu and Kashmir, which constitute a serious threat to regional peace.

The Deputy Prime Minister also stressed that India must release all the political prisoners, lift curbs on the outlawed political parties, revoke the illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 and the subsequent steps aimed at demographic change and political engineering, and implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.