Highlighting the continuing restrictions on political and civic space in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Wednesday urged the OIC member states to maintain a unified position on Jammu and Kashmir at the United Nations and other international fora.

The deputy prime minister briefed the participants on the Indian attempts to change its demographic, political and cultural identity while addressing the Ministerial Meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly here.

He expressed gratitude to the OIC Secretary General, members of the Contact Group, the OIC Special Envoy on Jammu and Kashmir and the OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission for their strong and principled support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that Jammu and Kashmir remained an internationally accepted dispute on the agenda of the UN Security Council and stressed that no domestic law, judicial verdict, electoral exercise or demographic manipulation could replace the inalienable right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people.

He emphasized Pakistan’s commitment for a just and peaceful solution of the dispute in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and demands of the Kashmiri people.

The Punjab government has sought the federal government for army and Rangers’ deployment in several areas in view of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) likely lengthy march on September 27.

Sources said that Punjab government has sought Rangers deployment in Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Mianwali districts. Punjab Home Department has also proposed deployment of army forces in Rawalpindi.

The Punjab government has written to the federal government for army and Rangers’ deployment till October 5. The request was made for law and order maintenance in view of the expected political activities, sources said.

The topic was also discussed by the Standing Committee of Punjab Cabinet on Law and Justice, sources said.

Ahead of a likely PTI march, the Islamabad Police has also requested 18,000 more troops from Punjab and Sindh.

Police sources claimed 16,000 men have been requested from Punjab Police while another 2,000 from Sindh Police. The Islamabad police has also sought three deputy inspectors general (DIGs), seven senior superintendents of police (SSPs) and 18 superintendents of police (SPs) from the two provinces.

The demands are part of security measures in and around Islamabad in the run-up to the political action on September 27.

Saudi petroleum exports to Pakistan via the Red Sea reopened after drone attacks stopped a crucial pipeline, alleviating scarcity concerns as regional violence affects the country’s primary Middle Eastern supply sources, officials said on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia resumed the operation of its East-West Pipeline that transports crude from oilfields in the Kingdom’s east to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, after it was interrupted on Sept 13 due to attacks that also suspended loadings at the export terminal.

The route helps Saudi crude avoid the Strait of Hormuz, where commerce had been severely affected since the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran broke out in February. TANKERS FROM YANBU TO PAKISTAN SAILING SOUTH THROUGH THE RED SEA AND THE BAB AL-MANDAB STRAIT TO THE ARABIAN SEA.

Reuters reported Tuesday that the East-West Pipeline had resumed at a slower rate and work was ongoing to get flows back up to their pre-war level of about 4 million barrels a day, or four percent of the world’s oil supply.

The restart helped send benchmark Brent crude down more than $2 to about $98 a barrel Tuesday, its lowest level in two weeks, while prices remain high on continuing disruption across the Middle East.