India rejects OIC remarks on Jammu and Kashmir, questions its credibility

India on Wednesday rejected references to the country in a joint communique issued by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir, calling them "unwarranted and factually incorrect". The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the OIC had no locus standi to comment on matters that are strictly internal to India.

The MEA reiterated that the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India and said politically motivated statements would not change this reality.

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"India categorically rejects the unwarranted and factually incorrect references to India in the Joint Communique of the so-called OIC Contact Group on Jammu & Kashmir. The OIC has no locus standi to pronounce on matters that are strictly internal to India," the ministry said in a statement.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal shared the statement in a post on X.

The response from New Delhi came after Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar addressed a ministerial meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir in New York.

According to Pakistan's foreign ministry, Dar spoke at the meeting on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

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Dar urged OIC member states to maintain a "unified position" on Jammu and Kashmir at the United Nations and other international forums.

He also reiterated Pakistan's commitment to a "just and peaceful settlement of the dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people", the foreign ministry said in its post on X.

The MEA said the OIC's repeated endorsement of such narratives raised questions about the organisation's credibility.

"Repeated endorsement of such motivated narratives only raises serious questions on the credibility of OIC," the ministry said.

It also urged the organisation to counsel Pakistan over terrorism instead of providing it a platform to raise what India described as fabricated and motivated propaganda.

"Instead of offering a platform to Pakistan to peddle its fabricated and motivated propaganda, OIC will be better advised to counsel Pakistan, which has a well-documented record of supporting and sponsoring terrorism, to look inwards and address the continuing threat of terrorism emanating from territories under its control," the statement said.