Turkey has once again raised the Kashmir issue on the international platform. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has mentioned Kashmir in the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Along with this, the Ministerial Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has reiterated support for the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people.
Turkish President Erdoğan told the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, "It is important that all disputes in South Asia, including the issue of Kashmir, be resolved through dialogue within the framework of the UN Charter and related resolutions."
When Erdogan was giving this speech, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was present in the House.
However, India has been rejecting any third party interference in the Kashmir issue and says that there can be only bilateral talks on this issue.
There is no statement from India yet on Türkiye's recent statement. However, the Indian Foreign Ministry has earlier completely rejected such statements by Türkiye.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has definitely issued a statement on the Ministerial Contact Group of the OIC.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has said, "The OIC has no mandate to comment on matters that are entirely internal matters of India. The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India, and no amount of politically motivated propaganda can change this reality."
"Repeatedly endorsing such inspired stories only raises serious questions on the credibility of the OIC. Instead of providing Pakistan a platform to spread its fabricated and inspired propaganda, the OIC would be better advised to teach Pakistan to look into its own backyard and deal with the persistent threat of terrorism emanating from areas under its control."
Türkiye has mentioned Kashmir before also
But this is not the first time that Erdogan has raised the issue of Kashmir on the international platform.
Türkiye's controversial comments came to light after the abolition of Kashmir's special status Article 370 in 2019.
At the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2019, Erdoğan had said, "Unfortunately, 80 lakh people are almost in a state of siege and are not able to get out of Kashmir." He also said that the international community has failed to pay full attention to this dispute in the last 72 years.
India had given a strong reaction to this statement. It was claimed in many media reports that due to this statement, PM Modi had canceled his Türkiye tour. And till date, while holding the post of Prime Minister, PM Modi has not visited Türkiye.
After this, in the year 2021 and 2025 also, Turkey raised the issue of Kashmir on the platform of the United Nations General Assembly.
It is noteworthy that Turkey has raised this issue after the Mecca Agreement which was signed between Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia on August 7 this year.
Türkiye's support to Pakistan
The tension in the relations between India and Pakistan is well known. There was also an armed conflict between the two countries in the month of May last year. During this time also it was seen that Türkiye had openly supported Pakistan.
During the conflict, India had claimed that on May 8, Pakistan had attacked with a large number of drones, which were Turkish-made Songar drones.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that the people of Pakistan are like brothers and he prays to Allah for them.
However, after the announcement of ceasefire, Turkey welcomed this decision and said that both the countries should use this opportunity for direct and healthy talks.
In May last year, BBC correspondent Rajneesh Kumar had asked Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Talmeez Ahmed why Türkiye is openly supporting Pakistan?
On this, Talmeez Ahmed had said, "Turkey has ideological closeness with Pakistan on the basis of Islam. Apart from this, Turkey and Pakistan were America's partners in the Cold War. Their security cooperation has been very deep. Many Pakistani generals have personal relations with Turkey. Defense cooperation has now increased significantly between the two countries."
“I think Erdogan is further strengthening the old relations with Pakistan. Erdogan has also made himself an Islamist leader and he gives importance to Islamic things. Erdogan often raises the issue of Kashmir and presents it as an Islamic issue. Turkey has made it clear that it stands with Pakistan.
Talmiz Ahmed says, "Interestingly, there are two important powers in the Middle East, in which Türkiye is completely with Pakistan and Israel is with India. In relation to Türkiye and Pakistan, the arrival of Islam has come after the arrival of Erdoğan. That is, the relations between the two countries have been deep since 1950, but Islam came to this depth after the arrival of Erdoğan and now it has made inroads prominently.
Can the relationship between two countries be based only on religion and ideology without any benefit? When BBC correspondent Rajneesh Kumar asked the same question to Navdeep Suri, who was India's ambassador to UAE and Egypt, he said, "Turkey and Pakistan are not only ideologically close but Turkey is also getting the entire defense market of Pakistan."
The recent Mecca agreement also confirms this. Under this agreement, an attack on any one country will be considered an attack on all three countries.
India also has its eyes on this agreement. The impact of the agreement will depend on how the three countries implement it in the future. Also, the real test of this agreement will be when one of these countries faces a military crisis.
Türkiye's increasing distance from India
According to Talmeez Ahmed, Turkey already had military cooperation with Pakistan but now Islam has also come.
Talmeez Ahmed had said, “Islam is used as an opportunistic slogan. When it comes to benefits, we mention Islam. When it comes to its own interests in geopolitics, Islam takes a back seat. I think Türkiye has only a verbal interest in Islam. Türkiye wants its dominance in West Asia along with the Ottoman Empire. This is its primary desire and in this desire, Türkiye sees Pakistan as an important ally.
Is Türkiye's alliance with Pakistan a blow to India?
Talmiz Ahmed had said, “Turkey has never had sympathy with India. Türkiye has always been teasing India on Kashmir. India's interests in the Middle East and Gulf are linked to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Iran. There is enough warmth in India's relations with these countries.
According to Navdeep Suri, "There are about 200 countries in the world and among them, Türkiye's association with Pakistan cannot be seen as much of a shock." Erdoğan has a position regarding Islam and that position is clearly visible."
