India at OIC

0
737

W. MUSAVIR

This is for the first time in the history that India was invited to Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit held in Abu Dhabi the capital city of United Arab Emirates. India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj addressed the inaugural session of the 46th OIC meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers on March 1, 2019, guest of honour.  

Sushma’s attendance in the meeting had several positive and negative aspects. Some were unhappy with her presence and some were quite happy as it was the first of its kind. UAE did not pay heed to Pakistan’s concern over the invitation extended to Indian to join at OIC meet in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that, he telephoned UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and expressed disappointment on the invitation of Indian foreign minister Swaraj to attend OIC. However, while discussing the matter with UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah did not respond to it.

While addressing the press conference in Delhi, Congress party leader Manish Tewari said, “What happened in Abu Dhabi is extremely disturbing for India and every citizen of the country, The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) passed the resolution in which they condemn in the strongest possible terms recent wave of ‘Indian terrorism’ in occupied Jammu & Kashmir. He went on and asked the Prime Minister and External Minister of India “Is this your diplomatic achievement that you got India labelled as a terrorist state. Is this your great diplomatic achievement?”

Professor Happymon Jacob at Jawaharlal Nehru University said, “This is a huge diplomatic embarrassment. Didn’t the government foresee this while sending the foreign minister to the OIC?!”

The Citizen, an Indian newspaper, termed the OIC resolution a major setback for the Indian foreign policy. The paper quoting a senior Indian diplomat said the OIC statement should have been expected, as it was consistent with its position over the years. It was not still clear what gains Indian diplomacy had made on that front, except to lend further legitimacy to the OIC and hence the resolution in itself that also called for restraint, and urged both countries to work for peace.

Despite tension between India and Pakistan after Pulwama attack, a senior Indian official confirmed that no efforts had been made to mediate at the ongoing Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit. “There was no offer to mediate [between India and Pakistan] from any OIC members,” said T.S. Tirumurti, a secretary at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in response to a question from journalists at a press conference on India’s participation at the OIC summit in the capital.

About the possible tone of resolution on Jammu and Kashmir to be adopted by the OIC summit, he said: “We have opened a new chapter in our relationship with the OIC. At this juncture I don’t want to speculate about what sort of resolution will come out. Our position has been made very clear. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and we will not let anyone intervene in our internal affairs.”

Earlier, OIC Contact Group on Kashmir has expressed deep concern over the heightened tension in the region and called for immediate de-escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan.

The emergency meeting was held on Tuesday (Feb. 26) at the OIC General Secretariat in Jeddah. The meeting was called preceding a two-day 46th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers. The Contact Group commended Prime Minister of Pakistan’s offer for peace and dialogue to India to resolve all issues. The members of the Contact Group reiterated their continued support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. They called on India to immediately stop repressive security operations against the people of Jammu and Kashmir, respect the fundamental and basic human rights and address the dispute in accordance with the relevant OIC and United Nations Security Council resolutions on the subject as well as the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people, the principle of self-determination and human rights.

In addition to this, the OIC’s stand on the Kashmir issue questions the state of Jammu and Kashmir as a legitimate part of India. The organization has been generally supportive of Pakistan’s concerns over Jammu and Kashmir. With regards to this, the OIC has been issuing statements criticizing alleged atrocities and human rights violations in the state. For instance, as recently as December 2018, the OIC General Secretariat had “condemned killing of innocent Kashmiris by Indian forces,” further describing it as a “terrorist act.” India has always categorically stated the issue to be a “matter internal to India” and insisted that any dispute over it with its neighbour Pakistan must be resolved bilaterally.