India rejects OIC statement, says another attempt by Pakistan to manipulate the Group – The Tribune

New Delhi [India], May 6 (ANI): India has strongly rejected the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) recent statement, terming it “absurd” as it refused to recognise the facts of the Pahalgam terrorist attack and its cross-border linkages.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Tuesday that OIC has no right to interfere in India’s internal affairs.

“The OIC statement, issued at the behest of Pakistan, is absurd in refusing to recognise the facts of the Pahalgam terrorist attack and its cross-border linkages,” he said in response to media queries about OIC Group statement in New York.

“This is yet another attempt by Pakistan, a country that has long engaged in cross-border terrorism, to manipulate and misguide the OIC Group to issue a self-serving statement. We reject the OIC’s interference on matters that are internal to India,” he added.

The terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22 drew global condemnation and despite Pakistan’s aggressive actions such as missile test amid tensions with India, the OIC chose to express its solidarity with Islamabad.

According to ARY News, OIC Group said in its statement that it commends the offer of good offices made by the UN Secretary General and calls upon the international community, including the United Nations Security Council and influential states, to take immediate and credible measures to de-escalate the situation.

According to the report, the Group reaffirmed its “unwavering solidarity with the government and the people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan”. The statement also made some comments about India.

Pakistan had called for an emergency UNSC consultation under severe international pressure following the Pahalgam attack. However, in the closed-door meeting held in New York, UNSC members raised tough questions for Pakistan, sources in New York told ANI.

The members refused to accept the “false flag” narrative planted by the Pakistani side and asked whether the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a proscribed terror organisation with deep ties to Pakistan, was likely to be involved in the terror attack, they said.

Sources said there was broad condemnation of the terrorist attack and recognition of the need for accountability. Some members specifically brought up targeting of tourists on the basis of their religious faith.

There was no statement published by the UN body following the “closed consultations” that were requested by Pakistan, a non-permanent member of the Council. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)