OIC has no locus standi to comment on our internal affairs: India at UNHRC

India said on Tuesday that the Orgsation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has no locus standi to comment on the 'internal affairs' of New Delhi.

Vimarsh Aryan, First Secretary at India's Permanent Mission to the UN Human Rights Council here, said, "As regards OIC, it has no locus standi to comment on the internal affairs of India. Jammu & Kashmir has been, is and shall continue to be an integral part of India."

The OIC, while expressing concern over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, has asked India to ease restrictions in the region and respect the fundamental rights of the people of Kashmir. Of 57 OIC member countries, many are members of the UNHRC.

Aryan said that Article 370 was a temporary provision of the Indian Constitution and India's move to withdraw Jammu and Kashmir's special status was within the country's sovereign right and entirely an internal matter.

"We are not surprised at Pakistan's hysterical statements with false narratives aimed to politicise and polarise this forum (UNHRC). Pakistan realises that our decision cuts away the ground from under its feet by creating obstacles in its continuing sponsorship of cross-border terrorism," he said.

Aryan said that Pakistan's nefarious designs on Kashmir never succeed as the people of India are united in their determination to preserve our territorial integrity

"It defies the credibility that Pakistan, which is the epicentre of global terrorism, is claiming to speak on behalf of unnamed countries on the issue of human rights. It forgets that terrorism is the worst form of human rights abuse," he said.

Aryan said that India's legislative decisions on Jammu and Kashmir cut the ground from under Pakistan's feet by creating obstacles in its continuing sponsorship of cross-border terrorism and its gory human rights record speaks for itself.

He said that Pakistan's rhetorics on Kashmir will not distract international attention from the country's persecution and elimination of religious and ethnic minorities

"This is the reason that Pakistan no longer publishes official statistics about its minorities as India does. Blatant abuse of blasphemy laws in Pakistan to persecute minorities is well documented. Aasia Bibi, the Christian woman, was incarcerated for years."

Aryan also referred to the forced conversion and marriage of a minor Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur.

"Aasia Bibi, the Christian woman, was incarcerated for years. So was Abdul Shakoor, the 82-year old Ahmadiya, under Anti-Terrorism Act for selling books. The recent case of abduction, forced conversion, and marriage of a minor Sikh girl Jagjit Kaur, exemplifies the state of women, especially from the minority communities in Pakistan. And today, in this Council Pakistan has the audacity to tell others about human rights that it so egregiously violates again and again," he said.

Earlier today, India had rejected Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's allegations and hit back saying that a "fabricated narrative" on Jammu and Kashmir has come from "the epicentre of global terrorism" and from a nation, which conducts cross-border terrorism as a form of 'alternate diplomacy.'

Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East) in External Affairs Ministry, made the national statement during the general debate at the UNHRC session and strongly defended the government's decision to abrogate Article 370 and reorgse Jammu and Kashmir, saying that legislative decisions on Jammu and Kashmir were "sovereign" and "entirely internal to India."

( With inputs from ANI )