Sheeshgar

We welcome any serious international attention to Kashmir. But after decades of OIC resolutions, communiqués, meetings and expressions of solidarity, the Kashmiri people are entitled to ask a very simple question: What concrete action is the OIC taking to move the Kashmir question towards a peaceful political resolution? This is not a new question. I have raised it in my earlier responses to OIC statements and meetings, including the need to move beyond repetitive declarations towards an actionable diplomatic strategy. The OIC’s own recent decisions provide a basis for such action. Its 2025 Council of Foreign Ministers resolutions called for the Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir to meet regularly; for OIC representatives to brief the UN Secretary-General, the Presidents of the General Assembly and Security Council and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; for intensified international advocacy; and for a panel of eminent international personalities to explore legal, political and diplomatic avenues for a peaceful settlement. (OIC OCI) The OIC has therefore already identified many of the instruments required. Where is the implementation? At this UN General Assembly, the Contact Group should go beyond another statement and announce a concrete programme of action. I would respectfully suggest at least the following: 1. Put the UN record at the centre. The Kashmir question has been before the United Nations since 1948. The OIC should systematically engage Permanent Missions with the relevant UN Security Council and UNCIP resolutions rather than allowing Kashmir to disappear from the international diplomatic agenda. 2. Establish a permanent diplomatic action mechanism in New York and Geneva. The OIC has already instructed its missions to circulate material on Jammu and Kashmir to UN mechanisms and Permanent Missions. This should become a continuous, professional diplomatic campaign rather than activity concentrated around anniversaries and annual meetings. (OIC OCI) 3. Implement the proposed panel of eminent international personalities. The OIC has itself called for such a panel to explore legal, political and diplomatic avenues for a peaceful settlement. The time has come to constitute it, give it a mandate and publish its recommendations. (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) 4. Put Kashmiris at the centre of the political process. India and Pakistan are principal parties, but the people of Jammu and Kashmir are not merely spectators to a dispute between two states. Any serious future political process must provide meaningful, credible and inclusive Kashmiri participation. The OIC should therefore engage a broad spectrum of Kashmiri political and civil-society voices rather than allowing the Kashmir question to be represented internationally through governments alone. 5. Move from solidarity to diplomacy. Statements of solidarity are important, but they cannot by themselves change realities on the ground. The OIC should use its collective diplomatic weight with the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, the European Union and other influential states to build support for a sustained political process. 6. Ask what happened to the peace processes of the past. The international community needs to understand why repeated attempts at dialogue have failed. This includes examining not only India’s policies but also Pakistan’s own handling of past negotiations and back-channel initiatives. A future peace process cannot repeat the mistakes of the past. 7. Address political prisoners and human rights through a sustained mechanism. The OIC should establish a documented mechanism for monitoring developments, engaging UN human-rights mechanisms and following individual cases—not merely issuing periodic statements. 8. Develop a genuinely Kashmiri-led peace agenda. Kashmir should not remain permanently trapped between the diplomatic positions of Delhi and Islamabad.