Image source: Reuters
Insulted by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Pakistan on Friday boycotted its invitation by conference host – Abu Dhabi, as a protest against the invitation to India.
“The Foreign Minister of Pakistan will not participate in the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers,” said a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry here.
It said Pakistan’s “strong objections” to India’s participation have been “clearly communicated” to the OIC.
The 57-member OIC invited India as the ‘guest of
Before the conference, Pakistan had conveyed its objections over the invitation to India but those were disregarded by the grouping and the host country United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Pakistan Foreign Ministry claimed that “India has no moral or legal grounds to be present at the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers.”
Shah Mehmood Qureshi decided to boycott the meeting amid intense tensions between the two countries after host United Arab Emirates (UAE) said it would be difficult to withdraw the invitation extended to India Foreign Minister (Shah’s counterpart), Sushma Swaraj.
The 46th Session of OIC Council of Foreign Ministers was attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who addressed its plenary session today and spoke about India’s civilizational links with the Muslim countries across the world, reported ANI.
Pakistan, in the past, has frequently used the OIC platform to target India over Jammu and Kashmir.
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