DNA

ISLAMABAD – Positively responding to Pakistan’s offer, the 47th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC in Niger has decided to host the 48th CFM Session in Islamabad in 2021.

As the prospective CFM Chair, Pakistan has also become a member of the 6-member OIC Executive Committee for the next three years.

Pakistan is a founding member of the OIC. It has always played an important role in promoting the role of OIC as a collective voice of Muslim Ummah.

The OIC is the second largest inter-governmental Organization after the United Nations, with 57 members and 5 observer states spanning over four continents.

DNA

ISLAMABAD – In a landmark development, the OIC unanimously adopted a Pakistan-sponsored resolution regarding Islamophobia today.

Tabled during the 47^th Session of the OIC CFM (Council of Foreign Ministers) in Niamey, Niger, the Resolution was drafted in the context of rising incidents of Islamophobia in many parts of the world.

The Resolution expresses concern that Islamophobia, as a contemporary form of racism and religious discrimination, was on the rise. It also expresses deep concern at the recent incidents of desecration of the Holy Quran and reprinting of caricatures of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.) which hurt sentiments of more than 1.8 billion Muslims around the world.

The Resolution decides to designate 15 March as the “International Day to Combat Islamophobia” each year. It authorizes the OIC Permanent Missions in New York to jointly table a Resolution in the UN General Assembly, calling for establishment of this day. The Resolution also urges OIC Member States to organize and support various high-visibility events aimed at effectively increasing awareness at all levels about curbing Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred, and calls on the UN Secretary General to initiate a global dialogue on countering rising Islamophobia and promoting interfaith harmony.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his address to the 75^th Session of UNGA in September 2020, highlighted recent incidents of Islamophobia and unlawful provocation. The Prime Minister subsequently reached out to leaders of OIC Member States through two letters written on 28 October and 18 November 2020.

Speaking on the occasion, Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who led Pakistan’s delegation to the CFM, said that adoption of the Resolution was a reflection of the sentiments of billions of Muslims who respected other religions and expected similar respect for Islam and the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.).

DNA

ISLAMABAD – In a Resolution adopted unanimously by the 47^th Session of the OIC in Niamey today, the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) reaffirmed its strong support for the Kashmir cause. The OIC categorically rejected illegal and unilateral actions taken by India since 5 August 2019.

The Resolution demands that India “cancel the issuance of domicile certificates to non-Kashmiris” as well as other unilateral and illegal actions, including “Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization Order 2020”, “Jammu & Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate Rules 2020”, “Jammu and Kashmir Language Bill 2020” and amendments to the landownership laws.

Also rejecting policies being pursued by the RSS-BJP regime, the 57 countries of the OIC asked India to refrain from taking any steps to alter the existing demographic structure of the disputed territory.

In a comprehensive and strongly worded Resolution, the OIC:

• Rejected the illegal and unilateral actions by India on August 5, 2019, to change the internationally recognized disputed status of the Indian Illegally Ooccupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), and demanded that India rescind its illegal steps;
• Demanded India to cancel the issuance of domicile certificates to non-Kashmiris and revoke all unilateral and illegal actions in IIOJK since 5 August 2019, while refraining from taking any step to alter the existing demographic structure of the disputed territory;
• Condemned in the strongest possible terms human rights violations perpetrated by Indian occupation forces in IIOJK and other such instances of Indian terrorism that have been the source of unspeakable suffering for the innocent Kashmiri people;
• Deplored the state-sponsored terrorism and crimes against humanity by Indian occupation forces against people of IIOJK;
• Condemned extra-judicial killings during fake ‘encounters’ and ‘search-and-cordon’ operations and demolition of homes and private properties as a form of collective punishment;
• Denounced the renewed use of pellet guns by Indian occupation forces against innocent civilians;
• Condemned the harassment of Kashmiri women by Indian occupation forces;
• Deplored that India has callously exploited the current COVID-19 crisis to intensify its military crackdown and further advance its unlawful occupation in IIOJK;
• Welcomed the visit of OIC Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) from 2-6 March 2020;
• Reaffirmed the sentiments expressed in the unanimously adopted Communiqués of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu &Kashmir in its Ministerial meetings held on 25 September 2019 and 22 June 2020;
• Urged India to adhere to its international human rights obligations and allow the OIC Special Representative on Jammu and Kashmir and the OIC Fact-finding Mission to visit IIOJK;
• Strongly urged India to implement recommendations of the two Reports of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Jammu & Kashmir;
• Urged international community to review their engagements with India, the occupying power, as it is violating and disregarding the international law, the international humanitarian law, and international resolutions;
• Emphasized that the question of Kashmir is of utmost importance for the Muslim Ummah;
• Recognized that Jammu and Kashmir is the core dispute between Pakistan and India, and its resolution indispensable for realization of the dream of peace in South Asia;
• Acknowledged that the people of Jammu and Kashmir are the principal party to the dispute, and should be included in any peace process for resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute;
• Affirmed that any political process/elections held under foreign occupation cannot be a substitute to the exercise of the right of self-determination;
• Underscored that Jammu & Kashmir is an unresolved question of granting the right to self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir that has been on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council for over seven decades now;
• Reaffirmed that the fundamental right enshrined in the UNSC resolutions that the final disposition of the State of Jammu & Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of the people, expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite, conducted under the auspices of the United Nations;
• Decided to further consider the Jammu and Kashmir dispute at the 48^th Session of the CFM in Islamabad.

The 57-member OIC has been a consistent and vocal supporter of the Kashmir cause, and adoption of this Resolution was a reaffirmation of the principled stance always taken by the OIC on the Jammu & Kashmir dispute.

ISLAMABAD, NOV 28 (DNA) – Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi had a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al Mohammed Al Sabah of Kuwait on the sidelines of the 47th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of the OIC in Niamey, Niger.

The two sides exchanged views on bilateral relations, COVID-19 situation, the worsening situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IIOJK) and regional security.

Foreign Minister Qureshi stated that Pakistan and Kuwait enjoyed close historical and fraternal relations.

The Foreign Minister highlighted that a large number of Pakistanis living in Kuwait were making major contribution in the socio-economic development of Kuwait.

The Foreign Minister underscored Pakistan’s desire to transform close political relations into a robust economic partnership.

Foreign Minister Qureshi, while highlighting the COVID-19 as a formidable global health and economic challenge, appreciated the steps to counter the spread of pandemic.

He stated that despite limited resources the Government of Pakistan’s smart lockdown policy had helped in effectively countering the spread of the pandemic in Pakistan.

The two Foreign Ministers agreed to enhance cooperation in various fields including agriculture and food security.

Foreign Minister Qureshi briefed his Kuwaiti counterpart on the aggravating human rights and humanitarian situation in IIOJK since 5 August 2019, and India’s illegal measures to change the demographic structure of the occupied territory.

The Foreign Minister thanked the Government of Kuwait for its consistent support to Pakistan on the Jammu & Kashmir dispute.

The Kuwaiti Foreign Minister highlighted Kuwait’s steadfast position on the Jammu & Kashmir dispute.

The two Foreign Ministers agreed to enhance contacts at higher level to further strengthen bilateral cooperation.

The Kuwaiti Foreign Minister conveyed cordial greetings and message of good wishes from the Amir of Kuwait to the leadership and people of Pakistan.=DNA

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Google is celebrating Pakistani novelist, playwright and spiritualist Bano Qudsia’s 92nd Birthday, on Saturday with a doodle.

Born on November 28, 1928 in Firozpur, British India, She was popularly known as Bano Aapa, which means Elder Sister.

Renowned for her message of love and hope, Qudsia earned enormous acclaim for Urdu classics like her television play Aadhi Baat and novel Raja Gidh.

She wrote 25 novels and founded her own magazine called Dastango. Some of her famous stories include Aatish-i-Zer-i-Paa, Aik Din, Amer Bail, Asay Pasay, Chahar Chaman, Chotaa Sheher Baray Log, Footpath ki Ghaas, Haasil Ghaat, and Hawa Kay Naam.

Qudsia graduated from the Kinnaird College in Lahore and then joined the Government College University (Lahore) (GCU) to do her masters in Urdu literature which she completed in 1951.

She married writer Ashfaq Ahmed whom she had met at the Government College University in Lahore. The couple was considered inseparable in their social lives.

She was awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 1983 and Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 2000 for her literary achievements.

Bano Qudsia died at the age of 88 on February 4, 2017, at the Ittefaq Hospital in Lahore.