Snubbed by OIC over 'invite to India', Pak boycotts conference in protest

Snubbed by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Pakistan on Friday boycotted its conference being held in 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 honour' for the first time in its 50-year history.

Before the conference, Pakistan had conveyed its objections over 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."

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 civilisational links with the Muslim countries across the world.

Pakistan, in the past, has frequently used the OIC platform to target India over Jammu and Kashmir.

However, with India improving its relations with the Muslim nations, OIC in the recent past has toned down its criticism of India over Jammu-Kashmir.

In recent summit meetings of OIC, several member countries, including Bangladesh, Indonesia and others, have objected to 'strong criticism' of India.