On the second day of the United Nations General Assembly, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan brought up the Kashmir issue, saying it should be resolved through UN resolutions. "The Kashmir conflict, which is also key to the stability and peace of South Asia, is still a burning issue. Steps taken following the abolition of the special status further complicated the problem. We are in favour of solving this issue through dialogue within the framework of the UN resolutions, in line with the expectations of the people of Kashmir," Erdogan said in a recorded statement.
His statements come a day after similar lines from Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the UN. A day before, he had said, according to the Hindustan Times: “The organisation is only as good as its member states wish it to be. The Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine disputes are the organisation’s most glaring and long-standing disputes. The people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir still await fulfilment of the commitment made to them by the UN to grant them their right to self-determination,” he said. “Today, the UN is derided as a talk shop. Its resolutions and decisions are flouted. International cooperation, especially in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), is at its lowest."
India hit back at Erdogan. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, T.S. Tirumurti, said Turkey should "reflect on its policies more deeply". "We have seen remarks by president of Turkey on Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. They constitute gross interference in India's internal affairs and are completely unacceptable. Turkey should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its policies more deeply," he tweeted.
We have seen remarks by President of Turkey on Indian UT of Jammu & 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.
— PR UN Tirumurti (@ambtstirumurti) September 22, 2020
India had also launched a scathing attack on Pakistan Monday, saying that if there is an unfinished agenda at the UN, it is that of tackling the scourge of terrorism and the country, a globally-recognised epicenter of the menace, which harbours and trains terrorists and hails them as martyrs. Exercising India's right to reply, First Secretary in the country's Permanent Mission to the UN Vidisha Maitra said: "Pakistan is a country which is globally recognised as the epicenter of terrorism, which by its own admission harbours and trains terrorists, and hails them as martyrs and consistently persecutes its ethnic and religious minorities. We reject the malicious reference made to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India. If there is an item that is unfinished on the agenda of the UN, it is that of tackling the scourge of terrorism. However, for a nation that is bereft of milestones, one can only expect a stonewalled and stymied approach to reason, diplomacy and dialogue," Maitra said.
In February too, Erdogan had made similar comments, making a statement on an Islamabad visit that the Kashmir issue was as close to Turkey as it was to Pakistan. He compared “the struggle of Kashmiri people with that of fight by Turkish people against foreign domination during the World War I”. India had hit back, calling on the Turkish leadership "not to interfere in India's internal affairs and develop a proper understanding of the facts, including the grave threat posed by terrorism emanating from Pakistan to India and the region".
