India has called the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahmin Taha, a “mouthpiece for Pakistan” after the head of the 57-nation Muslim bloc brought his three-day trip to Pakistan to an end on Monday.
A statement by the Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi on Tuesday lambasted Taha for his visit to Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the comments he made during the trip.
In particular, Taha reaffirmed OIC’s solidarity with the people living in Jammu and Kashmir in their “quest for the right to self-determination” during his meetings with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Islamabad.
During his trip to Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Taha also paid a visit to the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between India and Pakistan. Taha said after a meeting with the President of ‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir’ (known in India as part of 'Pakistan Occupied Kashmir', or simply 'PoK') that the OIC has been working to find a “channel of discussion” between New Delhi and Islamabad to resolve the long-standing Kashmir dispute.
The Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman remarked that the OIC has “no locus standi” on matters related to Jammu and Kashmir, which he described as an “integral and inalienable” part of India. “The OIC has already lost its credibility by taking a blatantly communal, partisan and factually incorrect approach to issues,” Bagchi remarked.
The Indian diplomat also urged the OIC to refrain from becoming a “partner in carrying out the nefarious agenda of Pakistan of promoting cross-border terrorism into India, especially in Jammu & Kashmir”.
The OIC has continuously criticized India over the Kashmir dispute and the alleged violation of human rights in the country.
The OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting in November 2020 passed a resolution calling on New Delhi to reverse its decision of revoking the semi-autonomous status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
In August 2020, the Indian Parliament voted to revoke Article 370 (the provision which temporarily accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir) of the Indian constitution and split the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two federal territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The decision was rejected by Islamabad, which downgraded its commercial and diplomatic ties with New Delhi until the decision should be revoked.
Islamabad also insists that the resumption of talks with New Delhi depends upon restoring the pre-August 2020 political status quo in Jammu and Kashmir.