Pakistan ally Turkey's Erdogan raises Kashmir issue at UN General Assembly once again

Yet again,Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has waded into the Kashmir issue at an international forum that has nothing to do with the West Asian country.

In his speech at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Erdogan said that Kashmir is "still a burning issue" in South Asia and India's 2019 decision to scrap the region's special status under Article 370 has "further complicated the problem".

"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 Jammu & Kashmir further complicated the problem," the Turkish strongman said. "We were in favour of solving this issue within the framework of the United Nations resolution and especially in line with the expectations of the people of Kashmir," he added.

It's hard to reason why Erdogan feels Turkey is any stakeholder (noting that he said 'We were in favour') in the Kashmir issue, which India has repeatedly said is an internal matter. Unless, like on many occasions, he has said this at the behest of his friend Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan has time and again failed to whip up any sentiment on Kashmir among other capitals, except in its 'all-weather ally' China and Turkey.

In the last UN General Assembly session too, Erdogan had raised Kashmir at the forum and said that despite UN resolutions "eight million people are stuck" in Kashmir. He had also criticised the international community for failing to pay attention to the Kashmir conflict.

Notably, the leader has failed to call out Islamabad-sponsored terrorism in South Asia, particularly in India and Afghanistan.

This time, the Turkish President also touched upon other regional issues in the Middle East, from conflicts in Libya, Syria and Yemen and Ankara's own tense standoff with Greece and Cyprus over resources in the eastern Mediterranean, to the blossoming Isreal-Arab ties with the signing of the Abraham Accord between the Jewish state, US, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates.

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India slams attempt to internationalize Kashmir

Erdogan's UN speech comes just a week after India lambasted Pakistan, Turkey, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the 46th session of the Human Rights Council for their remarks on the country's internal affairs. Responding to reference made by Turkey on Jammu and Kashmir, India in its right to reply advised Turkey to refrain from commenting on the internal affairs of India and develop a better understanding of democratic practices.

The 'democratic practices' remark at Turkey appears to be well directed seeing Recep Tayyip Erdogan is widely accused of cementing his power as a result of fixed elections and a clampdown on the opposition, having even faced a failed coup just a few years ago.

First secretary, Permanent Mission of India in Geneva Pawan Badhe who delivered India's right to reply said: "We reject the reference made by the OIC to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir which is an integral part of India. The OIC has no locus standi to comment on the internal affairs of India. The OIC has allowed itself to be misused by Pakistan to subverse its own Agenda. It's for the members of the OIC to decide if it is in their interests to allow Pakistan to do so."

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