India slams OIC for seeking rollback of abrogation of Article 370, calls it 'ill-informed'

India's foreign ministry termed OIC's statement as ill-informed and ill-intended, questioning its credibility. OIC reaffirmed solidarity with the people of Jammu & Kashmir and urged international efforts for resolution. Pakistan and China also made remarks on the issue, but the global community views Kashmir as a bilateral matter.

India on Wednesday sharply reacted on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) after it expressed concern over the Supreme Court’s verdict upholding the Narendra Modi government to abrogate the Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir on August 5, 2019. In its statement issued on Tuesday, the General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation reiterated its call to "reverse all illegal and unilateral measures taken since 5 August 2019 aimed at changing the internationally-recognized disputed status of the territory."

Rejecting the remark made by the OIC, India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi termed it as ill-informed and ill intended.

Bagchi said: "That OIC does so at the behest of a serial violater of human rights and an unrepentant promoter of cross border terrorism makes its action even more questionable."

"Such statements only undermine OIC’s credibility," he added.

The General Secretariat of the OIC in its statement also said that it reaffirmed its solidarity with “the people of Jammu & Kashmir in their quest for the right of self-determination and reiterates its call on the international community to enhance its efforts to resolve the issue in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.”

Prior to it, Pakistan and China had also made remarks on the issue. Islamabad has been raking the Kashmir issue at international forums since long but it had never met any success till date. The global community continues to consider Kashmir issue as a bilateral matter and urging the two neighbouring countries to resolve it through dialogue. 

Know about Article 370

Granting a special status to the state of Jammu & Kashmir, Article 370 came into force in October 1949. It allows the state to legislate its own laws in all matters, except finance, defence, foreign affairs and communications.

It had a separate constitution and a separate flag and denied property rights in the region to the people outside of the state. In 1954, Article 35A was added to Article 370 in 1954, empowering state lawmakers to ensure special rights and privileges for permanent residents of the state.

On August 5, 2019, the Modi government stripped Article 370 and Article 35A. After their scrap, now non-Kashmiris can buy property in the region. The state was bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu & Kashmir in the west and Ladakh in the east.