Foreign Minister writes to the OIC Secretary-General on the fallacious conviction of Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has written a letter to the Secretary-General of the OIC, H.E. Hissein Brahim Taha, apprising him about the dire human rights and humanitarian situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

In particular, the Foreign Minister has expressed grave concern over the sham conviction of Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik in a manifestly dubious and motivated case, dating back to 2017, filed against him by the Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The Foreign Minister underlined that the conviction of Mr. Yasin Malik and conjuring up of motivated cases against the Kashmiri leadership was continuation of the malicious Indian campaign to suppress the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people and deprive them of their true leadership. This was illustrative of India as a serial violator of human rights and usurper of the fundamental freedoms of the Kashmiris.

Expressing his deep concern over the inhuman conditions under which Mr. Yasin Malik has been detained in the infamous Tihar Jail since 2019 and the brutal treatment meted out to him, the Foreign Minister urged the OIC, in line with its longstanding and principled position on Jammu and Kashmir, to continue to play its role in the wake of a litany of blatantly illegal actions taken by the Indian government to undermine the legitimate struggle led by the Kashmiri leadership to break the shackles of occupation.

In view of the grievous situation in IIOJK, the Foreign Minister requested the Secretary-General to urge India to: acquit Mr. Yasin Malik from all baseless charges and ensure his immediate release from prison so that he can be reunited with his family, recuperate his health and return to normal life; to release all Kashmiri political leaders and human rights defenders arrested on fabricated charges; to accept an OIC Commission of Inquiry on Jammu and Kashmir to conduct comprehensive, international and impartial investigation into the gross human rights violations in IIOJK; and to let the people of IIOJK determine their own future through a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the United Nations as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The Foreign Minister underscored that the Kashmiris continue to pin their hopes on the Islamic Ummah to bring about their decisive emancipation from Indian oppression.

Islamabad
24 May 2022

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