In a pot shot at the Modi Government for claiming that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)’s decision to invite India to attend its plenary was a diplomaticsuccess, the Congress has said the resolution on Kashmir passed by the 57-nations grouping was “disturbing” happening for India.
“External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the OIC meeting in Abu Dhabi. The NDA-BJP Government touted it as a huge diplomatic success for India that it has been invited to attend the plenary...But what happened in Abu Dhabi is extremely disturbing for India,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.
“In a resolution, the OIC member states reiterated that Jammu & Kashmir remains the core dispute between Pakistan and India and its resolution is indispensable for the dream for peace in South Asia.
Tewari said the Congress would like to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi and EAM Swaraj whether this was “the diplomatic achievement”.
Reacting to the resolution, New Delhi had on Saturday asserted that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and the issue is strictly internal to the country.
“As regards the resolutions on Jammu & Kashmir, our stand is consistent and well known. We reaffirm that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India,” Raveesh Kumar, Spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs had said.
Swaraj had attended the inaugural plenary of the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC on Friday. She was the first Indian minister to address the OIC meeting.
India’s participation came despite strong demand by Pakistan to rescind the invitation to Swaraj to address the grouping which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi boycotting the plenary.
Swaraj attended the meeting in Abu Dhabi on March 1 as the guest of honour at the invitation extended by the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates.