OIC hypocrisy: Pakistan rakes Kashmir & Palestine; stays mum on Uyghur torture in China

A two-day meeting of the Council of the Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) began in Islamabad with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan raising the Palestine and Kashmir issue. However, OIC, which is also attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, remained mum on China's mass imprisonment of Uyghur Muslims.

The OIC consists of 57 Muslim majority countries and generally takes up the challenges faced by the Muslim world. The meeting which believes Muslims are being mistreated, criticised Isreal for its occupation of Palestinian territories and raked up the Kashmir issue.

China, which is attending the OIC session as a Special Guest at the invitation, is accused of mistreating Uyghurs. The US had earlier likened the treatment of the Uyghurs to the actions of Nazi Germany and expressed its disappointment that the OIC has not spoken up.

The 48th session of the CFM-OIC is being held here under the theme of 'Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice, and Development'. About 46 members are being represented at the ministerial level in the meeting. The rest will be represented by senior officials. The meeting is being chaired by Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. 

'OIC has no impact, not taken seriously': Imran Khan

During his keynote address, Imran Khan admitted that OIC has no impact and is not taken seriously by others. "Honourable Foreign Ministers, we have failed both Palestinians and the people of Kashmir. I am sad to say we have been able to make no impact at all. They don’t take us seriously. We are DIVIDE HOUSE and those powers know it."

He added, "In Kashmir, the international community promised them their right to decide via plebiscite, that right was never given to them. In fact, the special status of Kashmir was taken away from them illegally by India on August 5, 2019, but nothing happened. I am not talking about altering foreign policies, we have our own, but on core issues, I am asking OIC unless we have a united front, the things like Palestine will happen."

The Islamabad Ministerial will consider and adopt over 100 resolutions on a broad range of issues, including peace and security; economic development; cultural and scientific cooperation; and humanitarian, legal, administrative and financial matters, according to Foreign Office.

The agenda of the meeting covers a review of the developments affecting the Muslim world since the last CFM held in Niamey in 2020 and efforts undertaken by the secretariat for the implementation of resolutions adopted in previous sessions, especially on Palestine and Al Quds (Jerusalem).

The agenda includes Islamophobia and issues related to international terrorism and cooperation in economic, cultural, social, humanitarian, and scientific domains.