Saudi planning OIC meeting on Kashmir; Imran warns of Muslim genocide

Saudi, Pak foreign ministers discussed OIC’s role in advancement of the Kashmir cause

Saudi Pak FMs The Saudi and Pakistan foreign ministers holding delegation-level talks | Twitter handle of Saudi Foreign Ministry

A prominent Pakistani newspaper has reported that Saudi Arabia has conveyed to Pakistan that it was planning to convene a meeting of foreign ministers of members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Dawn reported on Friday that the plan was conveyed by "Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud during a meeting with (Pakistan) Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi" on Thursday.

Faisal was on a visit to Pakistan to convey the Saudi government's "gratitude" to Islamabad for not participating in a conference of Islamic nations in Kuala Lumpur. Faisal also met Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

According to a statement on the meeting by the Pakistan Foreign Office, Qureshi raised the issue of India's abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and NRC and the “systematic targeting of minorities in India, particularly Muslims".

The statement added the "two Foreign Ministers discussed OIC’s role in the advancement of the cause of Kashmir".

In recent months, there had been criticism in Pakistan of the OIC's stance on India's abrogation of Article 370, with Islamabad perceiving the group as being lukewarm in its support of Pakistan's demands. In March this year, Qureshi boycotted a meeting of OIC foreign ministers in Abu Dhabi after then external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj was invited as a guest of honour.

'Genocide' threat

As has been his practice in recent months, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday engaged in fear mongering about the intentions of the RSS. Imran tweeted a video of an RSS march in Hyderabad this week, comparing it to practices of the Nazi party. Imran claimed the RSS action would lead to “genocide of Muslims”.

Imran tweeted, “The int community should wake up before RSS on the move leads to genocide of Muslims that will dwarf other genocides. Whenever militias like Hitler's Brown Shirts or RSS are formed, based upon hatred of a certain community, it always ends in genocide.”

Imran has repeatedly brought up fears of the RSS and BJP provoking conflict and had described the government of Narendra Modi as being Fascist.

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