India hits out at OIC secretary-general for visiting PoK

New Delhi, December 13

India on Tuesday strongly condemned the visit of the secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and for his comments on Jammu and Kashmir, asserting that the grouping has no locus standi in matters related to the region.

In a sharp reaction to OIC secretary general Hissein Brahim Taha’s trip to PoK, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “Any attempt of interference and meddling in India’s internal affairs by OIC and its secretary general is completely unacceptable.”

He said the OIC had already lost its “credibility” by taking a “blatantly communal, partisan and factually incorrect approach” to the issues.

Taha was on a three-day visit to Pakistan from December 10-12.

“We strongly condemn the visit of the OIC secretary general to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and his comments on J&K during his visit to Pakistan. Let me reiterate that OIC has no locus standi in matters related to Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral and inalienable part of India,” Bagchi said.

He was responding to media queries on the visit of the OIC official to the PoK.