UNITED NATIONS: A meeting of OIC's Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir on Sept 29 expressed solidarity with the Kashmiri people, and called for an early resolution of the decades-old dispute between India and Pakistan.

A declaration adopted by the group, which met on the margins of UN General Assembly session, urged the international community to take "effective steps" for safe-guarding the rights of Kashmiri people, including their right to self-determination.

It expressed regret that In-dia had put a "pause" on the dialogue with Pakistan as it called for an early resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

The text welcomed the July meeting between prime ministers of India and Pakistan in Sharm-el-Sheikh, saying that dialogue between the two neighbours was the only way forward.

In this regard, the declara-tion took note of India's statement after the Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting that it was ready to discuss all issues with Paki-stan, including Jammu and Kashmir.

The declaration, which was unanimously adopted, called for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute "in accordance with UN resolutions and as agreed upon in the 1972 Simla Agreement".

The Contact Group met under the chairmanship of OIC secretary-general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu for an annual review of the development relating to the decades-old Kashmir dispute.

Opening the meeting, the OIC secretary-general ex-pressed the organization's solidarity with the Kashmiri people and hoped that the peace process between India and Pakistan would resume soon and become result-oriented.

Attending the meeting, held in a UN conference room, were Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and ambassadors of Saudi Arabia and Niger, representing their respective foreign ministers.

The Pakistan delegation was led by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who under-scored the imperative of a meaningful and result-oriented dialogue to amicably resolve the Kashmir dispute.

"We believe that a settlement of this long festering dispute can help establish durable peace in the region," he said in a speech before the adoption of the declaration. "It can also open numerous vistas of mutually beneficial cooperation between Pakistan and India".

Representatives of the Kashmiri people, from both the Indian held Kashmir and Azad Kashmir - APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, respectively, also participated in the meeting. In addition, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, executive director of the Kashmiri-American Council, was present.

Recalling previous OIC and relevant UN resolutions, the Contact Group urged India and Pakistan to "expeditiously resolve all outstanding issues including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir".

The declaration referred to the murder in May of two Kashmiri women in Shopian and condemned all human rights violations being committed against the people of Kashmir.

It called on India to put an end to the suffering of Kashmiri people by repealing the "draconian laws" imposed in Kashmir. - The Nation.

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