India raises concerns with Turkey over President Erdogan’s Kashmir remark

India on Friday reprimanded Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his remark over Kashmir during his bilateral visit to Pakistan recently.

During a weekly media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India has lodged a strong protest with Turkey’s envoy in New Delhi over Erdogan’s remark.

“We reject such objectionable comments on matters that are internal to India. We have lodged a strong protest with the Turkish Ambassador. Such unwarranted statements on India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty are unacceptable. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India,” he said.

MEA spokesperson Jaiswal said it would have been better if Pakistan’s policy of “using cross-border terrorism against India, which remains the biggest threat to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, had been called out”.

Erdogan last week had called for UN dialogue to address the “Kashmir issue” following his talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“The Kashmir issue should be addressed according to the UN resolution through dialogue and keeping in mind the aspirations of the people of Kashmir,” Erdogan had said.

“Our state and our nation, as in the past, stands in solidarity with our Kashmiri brothers today,” Erdogan had added.

Pakistan has been strengthening its ties with Turkey to strengthen its narrative on the Kashmir issue, while India has maintained that the Kashmir issue is strictly bilateral in nature.