India on Thursday took “serious view” of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s decision to invite Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the chairperson of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, to attend its meeting in Pakistan next week, reported The Hindu. Such actions, New Delhi said, are aimed at “subverting and violating” India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
At a press briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India does not expect the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to encourage people and groups that are involved in “terrorism and anti-India activities”, reported PTI .
“It’s unfortunate that the OIC continues to be guided by a single member’s political agenda,” he said, apparently referring to Pakistan. “We have repeatedly called upon the OIC to refrain from allowing vested interests to exploit the platform for comments on India’s internal affairs.”
The intergovernmental organisation has invited Farooq to attend its foreign minister level meeting to be held in Islamabad on March 22 and March 23, according to The Hindu.
Farooq has been under house arrest since August 4, 2019, a day before India revoked the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into two Union Territories.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference is an alliance of 26 political, social and religious organisations formed in March 1993. Its constitution describes Hurriyat as a group of Jammu and Kashmir-based parties that advocates for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute, reported India Today.
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