OIC envoy on Kashmir to arrive in Pakistan today

The Special Envoy of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for Jammu and Kashmir, Ambassador Yousef Aldobeay will arrive in Islamabad today on a six-day visit.

A high-level delegation including the OIC’s Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ambassador Tarig Bakhit and other senior officials will accompany the special envoy, according to a press release issued by the Foreign Office spokesperson here on Saturday.

The special envoy will hold discussions encompassing the peace and security, human rights, humanitarian and legal aspects of the grave situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

His visit will reinforce the centrality of a just settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute to lasting peace in South Asia.

During his visit to Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the special envoy will interact with a cross-section of the Kashmiri society including the true representatives of the Kashmiri people.

The delegation will visit a model village housing for Kashmiris forced from their homes by the Indian occupation forces in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and meet victims of India’s cross-LoC violations including women and children.

Established by the 14th OIC Summit in Makkah in 2019, the OIC’s Special Envoy on Jammu and Kashmir has played an important leadership role in steering the organization’s principled position on this issue.

The special envoy earlier visited Pakistan and the Azad Jammu and Kashmir in March 2020.

A delegation from the OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) also visited Pakistan and the Azad Jammu and Kashmir in August 2021.

The spokesperson said, “Pakistan greatly values the OIC’s principled and steadfast stance on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. As a collective voice of over 1.2 billion Muslims across the world, the OIC has led the way on this critical issue for the Ummah.”