The Turkish President has once again raised Kashmir at the UN, ignoring the fact that it is a sovereign territory of India and Pakistan has occupied a part of it

In unequivocal language, India has asked Turkey to “learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its own policies more deeply after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the Kashmir issue in his address at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.

“We have seen remarks by President of Republic of Turkey on Indian UT of Jammu and Kashmir. They constitute gross interference in India’s internal affairs and are completely unacceptable. Turkey should learn to respect sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its own policies more deeply,” T S Tirumurti, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, said in a tweet.



While addressing the UN General Assembly in a virtual format, Erdogan called Kashmir a “burning issue” and said, “Steps taken following the abolition of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir further complicated the problem.”

India regards Kashmir a bilateral matter to be settled between New Delhi and Islamabad under the Shimla Agreement. This position is widely accepted by the international community. Yet rallying round Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s attempt to garner international attention on Kashmir, the Turkish President deliberately raises the issue at the UN.

In 2019 also, he had raked up Kashmir at the UN. The Turkish President had accused the international community of having “failed” to devote enough attention to Kashmir, saying, “In order for the Kashmiri people to look at a safe future together with their Pakistani and Indian neighbours, it is imperative to solve the problem through dialogue and on the basis of justice and equity, but not through collision.

However, Turkey is the only country that backs Pakistan on Kashmir. The 57 countries Organisation of Islamic Cooperation which wields huge influences on Islamic countries, recently snubbed Islamabad by refusing to accept Pakistan’s request to hold foreign ministers’ meeting on Kashmir. Malaysia’s new Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has already refused to toe his predecessor Mahathir Mohamad’s line and thus, damage his country’s interests. Even the US Congressional committees have acknowledged that there are serious security and counter-terrorism challenges in Kashmir.