Pakistan leaves the chair empty as Sushma Swaraj speaks against terrorism at OIC meet

Pakistan left their representative's chair empty at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meet on Friday as a protest during Indian Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj's speech.

Pakistan had opposed the invitation to India, which is not a member of the OIC, for the conference taking place in Abu Dhabi. The inaugural address by Swaraj is considered a big diplomatic win for India. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced that he would not attend the meeting after OIC rejected his appeal to cancel the invitation to Swaraj.

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Speaking at the OIC meeting, Swaraj said, "The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion. It cannot be."

"Just as Islam literally means peace,none of the 99 names of Allah mean violence. Similarly, every religion in the world stands for peace, compassion and brotherhood, " said Swaraj.

On the ideology adopted by India, Swaraj said, "India has always embraced and found it easy to embrace pluralism since it is embedded in the oldest Sanskrit religious text 'The Rig Veda'."

Subsequently, Swaraj  mentioned a quote in Hindi which means "God is One but learned men describe Him in many ways".

"Terrorism is destroying lives, destabilising regions and putting the world at great peril. Terror reach is growing and the toll it is taking is increasing," Swaraj said.

On the fight against terrorism, Swaraj said, "This is not a clash of civilisations or cultures, but a contest of ideas and ideals. As PM Narendra Modi has often said, it is a struggle between the values of humanism and the forces of inhumanity."

"Terrorism and extremism bear different names and labels. It uses diverse causes. But in each case, it is driven by distortion of religion, and a misguided belief in its power to succeed."

Calling on the OIC for promoting peace and development, Swaraj said the OIC has a huge responsibility and opportunity to lift the people, promote respect with all states and replace harmony in place of hate.