Morocco man chosen OIC chief

By P. S. Suryanarayana

KUALA LUMPUR, JULY 1. The Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM), which concluded its annual session here last night, chose a new Secretary-General for the umbrella Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in quite an amicable manner after grappling with a ``legal impasse'' in that regard.

Dr. Abdelouhed Belkziz of Morocco will succeed his compatriot, Dr. Azeddine Laraki, at the end of the latter's term within the next few months. The question that posed a ``legal'' problem was whether an incumbent Secretary-General in his personal role or the country of his origin would be entitled to a second consecutive term. In the end, it was decided that the country concerned could be granted this courtesy in the same manner as a person holding the post might be. The puzzle was caused by Morocco's nomination of a person other than the one, Dr. Laraki, holding the post for the second successive term.

The decision followed consultations among the Foreign Ministers. The reasoning for it was not officially spelt out, but indications were that it was considered appropriate that the Arab group keep the post. While this would, in one sense, give a chance to another regional sub-group within the OIC in the normal course, it was not clear whether the new Secretary General- designate would still be eligible to seek re-election at the appropriate time.

Kashmir dispute

The ICFM's final communique noted, inter alia, that the Ministers adopted the recommendations of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir that met on the margins of the main conference. Shorn of the by-now familiar language used by the Contact Group, it reaffirmed ``the commitment of the OIC to promote a just and peaceful solution to the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the (relevant) United Nations' resolutions.'' The Contact Group heard presentations by the ``Prime Minister'' of ``Azad Kashmir'' (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in Indian parlance), `Barrister' Sultan Mahmood, and two nominees of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC). Identified as Mr. Yousaf Naseem and Mr. Altaf Qadri, the two came here from the Pakistani side of the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. These three were not listed as members of the Pakistani delegation to the ICFM.

Pakistan, in an effort to keep the Kashmir issue ``live,'' urged the OIC to note that the dispute would need to be resolved through a dialogue between Islamabad and New Delhi as suggested in a U.N. Security Council resolution that followed the nuclear tests by both these countries in 1998.

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