Ex-foreign minister calls on govt to speak up on Kashmir issue

Former Foreign Minister Dhunya Maumoon has stated that the Maldivian government should condemn the violation of rights of Muslims in China and India.

Dhunya wrote on social media platform Twitter that the Maldives government continued to remain silent while its allies, China and India were violating the rights of Muslims in their respective countries, especially in Xinjiang, Kashmir and Jammu.

"Promoting Islamic values is part of our foreign policy goals, yet our Government is silent while their allies - China & India, are both violating rights of Muslims in Xinjiang and in Jammu & Kashmir. We Maldivians condemn this & call for respect for the rights of these Muslims!", wrote Dhunya.

The Indian government earlier this year made the decision to repeal Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which gave special status to Kashmir, allowing it to have a separate constitution, a state flag and autonomy over the internal administration of the state.

While Dhunya has stated that the Maldives government should speak up in defense of Muslims in Kashmir, Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed recently told an Indian media that the Kashmir issue was an internal matter of India, and that the Maldives would not comment on it further. He also noted that the Maldives Foreign ministry had released a similar statement on the issue.

Nasheed added that the Maldives cannot stand with Organization for Islamic Counties (OIC) in their decisions taken against India for imposing restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir, further stating that he does not believe the Maldives, or any other county can criticize India over the Kashmir move.