OIC expresses concern over India SC Verdict on IIOJK Special Status
Narendara Modi & Joe Biden likely to skip Indian Republic Day celebrations
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Wednesday expressed concern over the Indian Supreme Court’s verdict upholding India’s revocation of Article 370 that guaranteed special status to the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Earlier this week on December 11, the top Indian court ruled that Article 370 was a temporary provision — revoked by India on August 5, 2019 — and that the occupied territory was an integral part of the country.
The OIC General Secretariat, however, reiterated its call to reverse all illegal and unilateral measures taken by India ever since, seeking to change the internationally-recognised disputed status of the territory.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the OIC posted: “OIC General Secretariat expresses concern over the Indian Supreme Court’s Judgment Upholding the Unilateral Actions Taken by the Indian Government on 5th August 2019 that Stripped the Special Status of the Territory of Jammu and Kashmir”
OIC General Secretariat expresses concern over the Indian Supreme Court’s Judgment Upholding the Unilateral Actions Taken by the Indian Government on 5th August 2019 that Stripped the Special Status of the Territory of Jammu and Kashmir: https://t.co/JhVEz5BtOq pic.twitter.com/aBPEQhV2Wb
— OIC (@OIC_OCI) December 12, 2023
The OIC shared the decisions and resolutions of the Islamic Summit and the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers on the issue of IIOJK.
The General Secretariat reaffirmed its solidarity with the people of IIOJK in their quest for the right of self-determination and reiterated its call on the international community to enhance its efforts to resolve the issue of Jammu and Kashmir by the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.
In 2019, the Modi government revoked Article 370, which ensured significant autonomy for IIOJK since 1947. The abrogation was enforced by a prolonged crackdown in the occupied territory, where a heavy contingent of the military was deployed, political leaders were incarcerated, a curfew was imposed and the internet was shut down for 18 months.
The Indian top court this week upheld the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to strip Kashmir of autonomous status.
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A five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud ruled that the IIOJK had become an integral part of India “which is evident from Article 1 and 370 of the constitution”.
The unanimous ruling came in response to more than a dozen petitions challenging the 2019 revocation and a subsequent decision of the Modi government to split the region into two federally administered territories.
The top court also upheld the Indian government’s decision to abrogate the disputed region’s semi-autonomous status, stating that the IIOJK “does not have internal sovereignty”.
The SC also directed the country’s election commission to conduct elections in the region by September 2024.
What’s Article 370 and why it matters for Kashmiris?
By repealing Article 370 of the constitution, people from the rest of India were given the right to acquire property in the disputed territory and settle there permanently.
The legislation was the basis of IIOJK’s accession to the Indian Union at a time when former princely states could choose to join either India or Pakistan following their independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
The article, which was enacted in 1949, exempted IIOJK state from the Indian constitution.
It allows the valley to make its laws in all matters except defence, foreign affairs, finance and communications. The law established a separate constitution and a separate flag, denying property rights in the region to outsiders due to which the residents of IIOJK lived under different laws from India in matters such as citizenship and property ownership.
PM Modi & Biden likely to skip Indian Republic Day celebrations
US President Joe Biden likely to skip India’s Republic Day celebrations after the American authorities foiled India’s plot to kill pro-Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on the US soil.
Media reports say Biden was expected to be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations but the US administration has told India that Biden is highly unlikely to visit after India’s terrorism plan on US soil was exposed by the US secret services in bombshell revelations last month that Indian agents plotted to kill the leading Sikh leader Pannun, who is founder of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and spokesman of Khalistan Referendum.
The US revealed that India was planning to kill Pannun even before his friend and pro-Khalistan Canadian national leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was assassinated in June this year.
In September, US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited Biden to be the chief guest for India’s Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2024.
India extended the invitation to the US president Biden as part of its preparations to host the Quad Leaders’ Summit in January next year.
An Indian government source told the media: “The Quad summit in India is proposed to be held later in 2024. We are looking for revised dates as the dates currently under consideration do not work with all the Quad partners.”
The Quad is a diplomatic network of the US, India, Japan and Australia.
A US National Security Council spokesperson on condition of anonymity said neither he nor the administration had “any travel announcements to preview at this time”.
Speaking about India and America’s relationship just a few days ago, Garcetti had said: “To make this romantic, it is like our Facebook status for a long time was ‘it’s complicated’. Now we are dating.”
This week, a top FBI director is visiting India to raise questions with India on its plans to kill Pannun on US soil. Earlier this week, pro-Khalistan activists held a huge march on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco chanting slogans: “FBI, FBI – You Are Right – Modi Is Behind Murder Plots”.
Over 1000 cars and trucks carrying Khalistan flags and “Wanted” banners with pictures of “Modi-Jaishankar-Sandhu” clogged Interstate I-80 to Highway 101 leading to the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, in one of the largest such demonstrations.
The Sikhs said they had assembled to support the American and Canadian investigations into India’s assassination plan against pro-Khalistan Sikhs. The rally was organised by Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) which is running the Khalistan Referendum voting campaign.
SFJ General Counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun stated: “Modi cannot hide behind the sovereign immunity forever. We will get him arrested, prosecuted and convicted under international law for his crimes against pro-Khalistan Sikhs, Kashmiri Muslims and Christians in Manipur.”
Pannun said the assassination plot charges against Nikhil Gupta and other Indian state officials by the US authorities are in fact charges against Narendra Modi.
On November 29, the US announced the filing of murder-for-hire charges against Indian national Nikhil Gupta in connection with his participation in a foiled plot to assassinate Pannun.
US Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, the defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a US citizen of Indian origin (Pannun) who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India. I am grateful that my Office and our law enforcement partners neutralised this deadly and outrageous threat. We will not tolerate efforts to assassinate US citizens on US soil, and stand ready to investigate, thwart, and prosecute anyone who seeks to harm and silence Americans here or abroad.”
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G Olsen said: “The dedicated law enforcement agents and prosecutors in this case foiled and exposed a dangerous plot to assassinate a US citizen on US soil. The Department of Justice will be relentless in using the full reach of our authorities to pursue accountability for lethal plotting emanating from overseas.”
