A grouping of 57 Islamic countries, OIC, has appointed a special envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, a move being seen as part of Pakistani efforts to internationalise the issue.
The Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) made the announcement in this regard following the meeting of its Contact Group on Kashmir at the UN headquarters here.
The appointment of Abdullah Bin Adbul Rahman Al Bakr, a Saudi national, as the Special OIC Envoy on Jammu and Kashmir was welcomed by Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who also held a series of meetings with the leaders of the Muslim countries raising the issue of alleged violations of human rights in Kashmir.
The Mirwaiz said the appointment of the Special Envoy would help resolve the Kashmir issue according to the "aspirations" of the Kashmiri people.
The OIC Contact Group on Kashmir was addressed by Foreign Ministers of Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Niger.
The Mirwaiz, PoK prime minister Sardar Yaqoob and Ghulam Nabi Fai, head of the Washington-based separatist Kashmir American Council, also addressed the meeting.
Now that Pakistan and separatist leaders have been successful in having an OIC Special Envoy for Kashmir, they have started lobbying before the UN and its Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for appointment of a Special UN Envoy for Kashmir.
"We believe that an appointment of a special envoy on Kashmir by the United Nations will go a long way to hasten the process of peace and prosperity in the region of South Asia," Fai said.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had also raised the issue of Kashmir with the world leaders during their meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. PTI
