Kashmir issue strictly internal, says India in response to OIC resolution

India on Saturday strongly responded to the criticism by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Kashmir in a resolution adopted by the group, saying that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part and a matter "strictly internal to India". On Saturday, the OIC had adopted a resolution on Kashmir in which the group had hit out at India for "intensified barbarities in Kashmir since July 2016", "illegal detentions and disappearances of Kashmiries" and "indiscriminate" use of force against them.

"Our stand is consistent and well known. We reaffirm that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India," the External Affairs Ministry said in its response to the OIC resolution.

The resolution by the group of 57 Islamic nations, including Pakistan, was adopted just a day after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s OIC address as the guest of honour. On Friday, Swaraj had delivered a crucial speech at OIC and urged the group to "act together" against the terrorism which is growing globally.

Without naming Pakistan, she called out the states which shelter terrorists. "If we want to save humanity, we must tell the states who provide shelter and funding to terrorists, to dismantle the infrastructure of the terrorist camps and stop providing shelter and funding to the terror organisations based in that country," the minister had said.

This was the first time India was invited to Islamic Nations conclave. Pakistan, a founding member of the group, skipped the OIC summit over India's participation. It had even demanded the group to cancel India's invite but the OIC rejected its demand.