Speaker of the Parliament, the former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, has said that India is a democratic country and does not believe that the Islamic countries around the world have a say in the Kashmir issue.

The former resident of the Maldives has made the statement after the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) has criticized India for revoking the special status to the disputed, Muslim-majority region Kashmir to spread the influence of Hindus in the region.

In an interview with India’s The Hindhu news during his ongoing visit to India, Nasheed said that the Maldives cannot agree with the OIC decision.

He said that the Maldives India is a democracy and there are few democratic countries in the OIC, hence, they cannot make comments on India’s human rights matters.

In August 2019, OIC held an emergency meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where the Secretary General of OIC, Dr. Yousef Bin Ahmed al-Othaimeen said that OIC should be behind the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their efforts to gain their rights.

OIC said that India’s decision to reduce the Muslim population in Kashmir and increase the Hindu population has led to civil unrest and increased the chances of terrorist attacks.