NEW DELHI (Diya TV) — India rejected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s references to Jammu and Kashmir at the United Nations General Assembly, calling them “unwarranted” and opposing outside involvement in the issue.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal delivered the response during a media briefing Tuesday. He said the matter concerns India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and that no external party has a role in it.
Erdogan raised Kashmir during his address to the General Assembly in New York the previous week. He urged countries to resolve disputes in South Asia, including Kashmir, through dialogue under the UN Charter and relevant resolutions.
“This is a matter, as you would understand, pertaining to India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and no external party has any locus standi on this issue,” Jaiswal said.
The response followed a separate Indian objection to a joint communique from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir. The group reaffirmed support for Kashmiri self-determination, sought the release of political prisoners and called for implementing UN Security Council resolutions.
India rejected the communique’s references as factually incorrect. The ministry reiterated its position that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India and said the OIC had no standing to comment on matters New Delhi considers internal. Turkey belongs to the contact group alongside Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Niger.
Erdogan has raised Kashmir in several previous UN addresses, although he omitted it from his speech two years ago. India maintains that issues with Pakistan should be resolved bilaterally and has cited the Shimla Agreement, under which both countries committed to peaceful negotiations.
