India condemns OIC’s ‘communal agenda’ in Kashmir restriction exercise

In a scathing denial, India on Monday termed the Organization of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) its comments on the exercise of restraint in Jammu and Kashmir as “undesirable”. Pointing to Pakistan, India has asked the group to refrain from pursuing its “communal agenda” at the behest of a country.

“As in the past, the Indian government has categorically rejected the demands of the OIC Secretariat. The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and integral part of India,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a statement to the 57-nation bloc.

“We are disappointed that the OIC Secretariat has again made unreasonable remarks on India’s internal affairs,” Bagchi said.

The MEA added that “the OIC should refrain from pursuing its communal agenda against India at the behest of a country”.

On Monday, the OIC, in multiple tweets, expressed “deep concern” over the restriction exercise in Jammu and Kashmir.

It called the exercise “a direct violation of relevant international law, including the relevant UN Security Council resolution and the 4th Geneva Convention.” It further added that the exercise was “changing the population structure of the region and violating the rights of the Kashmiri people”.

Referring to the long-standing and principled position on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and the relevant decisions of the Islamic Summit and the #OIC Foreign Council, the General Secretariat reiterated its solidarity with the people of #Jammu and #Kashmir in their just inquiry. – for the right to control. It urges the international community, in particular the UN Security Council – to immediately consider the serious implications of such a ‘# restriction’ exercise, “the OIC statement read.

Earlier, Pakistan’s parliament passed a resolution calling for “rejection” of India’s restriction exercise in Jammu and Kashmir. Its new foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, condemned the rebuilding of electoral boundaries in J&K as “illegal”.

The Commission on Restrictions on Reconstruction of Parliamentary and Legislative Centers in Jammu and Kashmir released its final report earlier this month.

Restriction is the act of redefining the boundaries of a constituency based on the change in its population within a specified period of time for a Lok Sabha seat to vote.

The Limitation Panel on Jammu and Kashmir, formed in March 2020, reported its final report on May 5 to redraw the electoral map of the Union Territory.