India criticises OIC invitation to Hurriyat leader

NEW DELHI, (Hindustan Times), 17 March 2022 -   
India on Thursday criticised the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) decision to invite Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Omar Farooq to a meeting being held in Pakistan next week. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a weekly media briefing sayingg it was tantamount to encouraging individuals and entities engaged in terrorism.  

The OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers is scheduled to meet in Islamabad during March 22-23. The session will discuss several political issues, including developments in Afghanistan and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which will be taken up by the OIC’s contact group on Kashmir.  

Though India currently has close ties with several key players within OIC, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Bangladesh, it has traditionally bristled at any attempt to raise the Kashmir issue or matters related to the country’s Muslim minority at the 57-member grouping.