The Organisation of Islamic Conference Summit's Teheran Declaration expressing concern about human rights violations in J&K and urging the umma to give support to Kashmiri Muslims (have elicited) the standard Indian reaction. ... The OIC Contact Group on Kashmir has been continued with Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Niger as members. Nawaz Sharif justified this at the summit by calling Kashmir the world's "hottest flashpoint".

Our foreign policy should take into account that: (a) despite the resumption of the Indo-Pakistan dialogue, practical rationality in Pakistan in discussing Kashmir should not be expected; (b) while references to Kashmiri in the OIC discussions and declaration should be noted, they only repeat OIC pronouncements since 1990 and portend no collective action against India by the 55- member OIC; (c) there is no intense interest or unanimity in the OIC membership on the Kashmir issue. The declaration is an expression of a general proforma consensus, animated by ... Islamic solidarity rather than (adoption by) individual member countries (of) operational anti-India policies; (d) we should not accuse. Iran of reneging on assurances (which) has been part of such consensual declarations on Kashmir in the past. But this has not really affected bilateral relations. We should of course have no illusions; Iran would sympathise with the Muslim cause everywhere in terms of the ideology of its revolution; (e) the approach to counter the OIC's orientation on Kashmir should be endeavours at representation there and ... let citizens from Kashmir participate in OIC meetings ... Several Kashmiri organisations have criticised the Teheran declaration for ambiguity on Kashmir. ...

The OIC membership is not united in its approach to and political differences, and differing and contradictory equations with different power centres ...

So a demonology of monolithic OIC pan-Islamism creating a confrontationist atmosphere in international  relations is factually incorrect and illogical as political prognosis. The OIC is a forum of countries sharing a religious and general ideological orientation in which each member seeks to further its interest through a collective instrumentality. (Source: The Indian Express, 25 December, 1997)