Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Regrettable

It is a matter of regret that the Organisation of Islamic Conference has commented on Jammu and Kashmir in a manner that amounts to interference in our internal affairs. India has done the right thing by rejecting the comments.

The OIC should overcome its prejudices and appreciate India’s relentless battle against terrorism unleashed by jihadis from across the border.

V. Vasudevan,

Puducherry

India should tell the OIC to confine its concerns to its member states. India, which includes Jammu and Kashmir, is a secular democratic republic and needs no advice on matters concerning its citizens. The OIC can, instead, advise Pakistan, a prominent member of the organisation, not to resort to jihadi terrorism. It should discourage Pakistan from assisting the so-called freedom struggle in Kashmir.

Col. C.V. Venugopalan (retd.),

Palakkad

I welcome the government’s rejection of the OIC’s charges on Kashmir. It is surprising that the organisation which did not take notice of human rights violations in its member countries found it fit to comment on Kashmir, an integral part of India. It was perhaps done to please Pakistan.

The OIC should function as a world body to promote the social and economic well-being of the people of its member countries. Other things are not part of its job.

B. Jagannathan,

New York

The OIC’s call for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people is genuine. One needs no locus standi to express concern over a burning political issue that has affected the entire subcontinent. If India is so sure of Kashmir being an integral part, why has it shied away from conducting a plebiscite in the State, as required under the U.N. resolution?

Again, if it is so sure of its human rights record in the State, why does it not allow independent fact finding investigators to visit Kashmir?

Suvaid Yaseen,

New Delhi

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