FM Qureshi asks OIC chief to take notice of Indian atrocities in IoK

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Sunday asked the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to take immediate notice of a renewed spate of Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir.

In a telephonic conversation with OIC Secretary General Dr Yousuf Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, the foreign minister condemned the use of brute force by India on unarmed Kashmiri civilians and said India was violating international laws by carrying out brutalities against the Kashmiris.

Qureshi further said the orders issued by the Indian government to Hindu Yatrees and tourists to leave Kashmir were also generating anxiety and fear in the region.

The OIC secretary general assured the foreign minister of his full cooperation in mitigating the situation.

Earlier today, while chairing an emergency consultative meeting at the Foreign Office in Islamabad, Qureshi condemned the Indian designs to disrupt regional peace, and urged the international community and human rights watchdogs to take notice of the situation. 

Talking to Prime Minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider in Islamabad, Qureshi also expressed concern on the deployment of more than 28,000 troops to occupied Kashmir and expelling of foreign tourists from the area.

He added that the decades-long dispute remained the main obstacle to lasting peace in South Asia.