Snap trade relations with Turkey: Rathore

All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson Kuldeep Rathore today reiterated that the import of apple from Turkey should be banned in view of the military support it had extended to Pakistan in hostilities against India.

Rathore, while addressing a press conference here, said that India had imported 1.29 lakh metric tonnes of apple from Turkey in 2023. “Besides, 3.3 lakh tourists from India visit Turkey every year. The government should ban the import of apple and other products from Turkey with immediate effect,” he added.

Rathore said that though India was among the first countries to extend help to Turkey when it was rocked by an earthquake in 2023 through ‘Operation Dost’, Turkey had been openly helping Pakistan. “Turkey could have at least stayed neutral. But it didn’t and chose to help our enemy country. So, it raises a big question mark on our foreign policy with regard to Turkey,” he added.

Rathore said that India need to have a look at its foreign policy and snap all trade agreements with countries that sided with Pakistan during the conflict. “Why is it necessary for us to import apple from such a country and hurt the interests of the apple growers of Himachal, Kashmir and Uttarakhand,” he added.

He said that it was strange that US President Donald Trump posted about the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. “We have always maintained that the issue between India and Pakistan is bilateral, and there’s no place for the third party intervention,” he added.