Sarwar terms India’s participation in OIC meeting ‘regrettable'

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Petroleum Ghulam Sarwar Khan Friday said it was regrettable that India had been invited to attend the meeting of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), being held in Dubai, without consulting Pakistan and other member countries.

In a statement issued here, he said Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj should have not been invited in the OIC meeting without taking all the member states into confidence.

He said India, which had been making failed attempts to isolate Pakistan, faced embarrassment among comity of nations due to the Modi government’s policy of propagating lies to mislead the world.

Despite Indian aggression and Line of Control (LoC)’s blatant violations, he said, Pakistani leadership exhibited great acumen and maximum restraint to avoid any escalation for peace in the region.

The minister described Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision to release the captured Indian pilot a ‘major step’ towards regional peace. “Pakistan, through this goodwill gesture has proven that it wants peace in the region,” he remarked.

At international level, he said PM Imran Khan was being highly appreciated for his decision to release the Indian pilot and the world media was calling him (Imran) as ‘peace ambassador.”

Due to effective strategy of the government, he said, Pakistan got historical success on both military and diplomatic fronts. “Pakistan has effectively presented its stance before the world and highlighted the Kashmir issue, which is pending for more than seven decades.”

He expressed confidence that Pakistan’s efforts would yield required results and the Kashmir issue would be resolved as per wishes of its people in a peaceful manner.