OIC Efforts in Highlighting Kashmir Issue Lauded
'Pakistan Times' Kashmir Desk

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Friday said that Pakistan appreciates OICs efforts in highlighting the just cause of the Kashmiri people.The Prime Minister said this while talking to Ezzat Kamal Mufti, special representative of the OIC Secretary General on Jammu and Kashmir, who called on him here.

Shaukat Aziz said that Pakistan wants the Kashmir dispute to be resolved in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people in a peaceful manner.

He said that the people of Kashmir are looking forward for the just settlement of the dispute and the OIC should continue to highlight their struggle for their right to self-determination.

The Prime Minister said the Kashmir issue is relevant for the whole Islamic Ummah which needs to play its due role in helping the Kashmiris in their cause.

He told the delegation about the suggestions put forward by President General Pervez Musharraf for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute and said that it is encouraging that these ideas have found resonance with all Kashmiris on either side of the Line of Control.

Shaukat Aziz also told the delegation about President Musharraf’s Middle East initiative in particular reference with the Palestinian issue.

The Prime Minister said that the Ummah needs collective efforts to have peace and development in the Muslim countries and to project the true image of Islam.

The Prime Minister was told that the Kashmir issue remains at the top of the OIC agenda and the Conference is deeply committed towards resolving this dispute.

Ambassador Mufti informed the Prime Minister that during his last visit to Pakistan he held meetings with Kashmiri leaders as well as the refugees from the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) which has given the OIC a fair idea of the ground realities in Kashmir.

He said that his group would also be visiting Azad Jammu and Kashmir and meeting the leadership there in the next couple of days.

Ezzat Kamal Mufti said that his group wanted to visit the IHK also but has not received any response from the Indian authorities to its request for allowing them to visit the area.

He was accompanied by a four-member delegation, comprising senior officials of the OIC Secretariat, Islamic Development Bank and Islamic Solidarity Fund.

Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Maj (Retd) Tahir Iqbal also attended the meeting.●