OIC branch condemns change in Kashmir's demographics

ANKARA

The human rights branch of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) slammed Friday new laws by the Indian government to control parts of Kashmir.

The agency “condemns the promulgation of illegal ‘Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Order 2020’ by India which is an attempt to alter demographic and geographic status of the Indian occupied Kashmir,” it said on Twitter.

It stressed the latest Indian action was a violation of international human rights and humanitarian laws, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, OIC and UN Security Council resolutions.

The commission demanded India stop human rights violations in Indian-occupied Kashmir, abolish “draconian laws” and recognize Kashmiris’ right to self determination.

Under the new law, those who have resided for 15 years in the disputed valley are eligible to become permanent residents.

The development followed New Delhi's scrapping of the disputed region's longstanding special status last August which invited international ire.

Disputed region

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965, and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire took effect in 2003.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.