New York, MINA – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on kashmir/">Jammu and Kashmir convened on the sidelines of the 2026 UN General Assembly in New York, with member states discussing developments in the disputed region and regional tensions between India and Pakistan, Anadolu Agency reports.
The meeting was attended by foreign ministers and senior officials from Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Niger, according to the OIC.
OIC Secretary-General Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to supporting the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination, which the OIC considers an important basis for achieving a just and lasting peace in South Asia.
The Contact Group also raised concerns over the continued detention and denial of bail for prominent Kashmiri figures, including Yasin Malik, Asiya Andrabi and Shabbir Shah. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Shah has been diagnosed with cancer.
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The group expressed solidarity with the government and people of Pakistan and discussed the military escalation between India and Pakistan in May 2025. It called for maximum restraint and urged all sides to avoid actions that could further destabilize the region.
The Contact Group also welcomed the ceasefire reached between India and Pakistan following the escalation and recognized international efforts to bring the two sides together.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar highlighted what he described as continuing restrictions on political and civic space in kashmir/">Jammu and Kashmir. He also raised concerns over alleged attempts to alter the region’s demographic, political and cultural character.
Dar said kashmir/">Jammu and Kashmir remains on the agenda of the UN Security Council and maintained that domestic legislation, judicial decisions, elections or demographic changes cannot replace the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination.
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India rejected the Contact Group’s references to kashmir/">Jammu and Kashmir, describing them as “unwarranted and factually incorrect.”
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the OIC had no authority to comment on matters that New Delhi considers internal to India.
“The entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable part of India,” the ministry said.
The dispute over kashmir/">Jammu and Kashmir has remained a major point of contention between India and Pakistan since 1947. The two countries have fought three major wars, including conflicts over Kashmir in 1948 and 1965, as well as the Kargil conflict in 1999.
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In 2019, India reorganized the former state of kashmir/">Jammu and Kashmir into two federally administered Union Territories, kashmir/">Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, a move rejected by Pakistan.[]
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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