Pakistan boycotts 46th OIC session over invitation to India

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office of Pakistan announced the boycott of the 46th session of the Organization of Islamic Council (OIC), taking place in Abu Dhabi on 1-2 March 2019.

The Foreign Office in its statement, issued on Friday, said Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will not participate in the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers since, “India has been invited to the inaugural plenary.”

India has unresolved disputes with Pakistan, a founding member of OIC. Moreover, India is also responsible for horrendous human rights violations of the people of Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, the press release read.

“India has consistently rejected OIC resolutions on the Jammu & Kashmir dispute, adopted at the OIC Foreign Ministers and Summit levels. Only last year, India rejected the OIC resolutions on Jammu & Kashmir by stating that “India dismisses it with the contempt it deserves.”

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Pakistan believes that with such a record India has no legal or moral grounds to be present at the meeting, the FO asserted.

Earlier today, addressing the joint session of the parliament, FM Qureshi said that he wrote two letters to the OIC secretary general and requested the OIC to reconsider its invitation to India’s Minister of External Affairs Sushma Sawaraj of attending the meeting or adjourn the session.

Qureshi noted with regret that despite Pakistan’s protest, the OIC’s invitation to Swaraj was not rescinded.

“I have [therefore] decided not to attend OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Abu Dhabi,” the foreign minister announced.