NEW YORK: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called for a solution to the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India on the basis of the United Nations resolutions.
Addressing the 76th session of the General Assembly, Erdogan, in a wide-ranging speech to the 193-member assembly, said: “We maintain our stance in favour of solving the ongoing problem in Kashmir for 74 years, through dialogue between the parties and within the framework of relevant United Nations resolutions.”
President Erdogan has consistently raised the Kashmir issue at the annual sessions of the UNGA.
At the 75th session held in September 2020, the Turkish leader said: “The Kashmir conflict, which is also key to the stability and peace in South Asia, is still a burning issue. Steps taken following the abolition of the special status of [occupied] Jammu and Kashmir further complicated the problem.”
His espousal of the Kashmir cause has evoked strong protests from India, which claims that Jammu and Kashmir is its “internal matter”.
Meanwhile, Ghulam Nabi Fai, secretary general of World Kashmir Awareness Forum, a Washington-based advocacy group, welcomed President Erdogan’s reference to the Kashmir issue, saying his words have given the Kashmiri people encouragement.
President Erdogan’s message, he said, is aimed at the promotion of dialogue among all parties to the dispute.
“This is the only means of achieving a genuine and lasting peace in this volatile conflict,” Fai said, adding that Kashmiri people have suffered too long.
“They demand and they deserve peace,” he added.
Over 100 world leaders are participating in the UNGA debate in person, with attendance in the assembly’s iconic hall scaled down as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the assembly on September 24 through a video link.
