India on Friday expressed ‘deep regret’ over the comments from the Turkish and Malaysian leadership in recent weeks about the situation in Kashmir. The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) described the comments as “biased and incorrect”.
“India and Turkey are friendly countries. We, therefore, deeply regret that since August 6, there have been repeated statements by the Turkish Government on a matter completely internal to India,” said Raveesh Kumar. Kashmir has been in communication lockdown since August 5 when India ended the special status of the State and bifurcated it into two union territories. Turkey was one of the first countries to protest the move alongside Pakistan.
“Despite the U.N. Security Council’s resolutions, eight million people of Kashmir are stuck in Kashmir. It is imperative to solve this problem through justice and equality instead of conflict,” Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan has said in his speech at the UN General Assembly on September 24.
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Following these comments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a message to Ankara by meeting on the sidelines of the UNGA with leaders of Armenia and Cyprus – both countries that have shared historically difficult relationship with Turkey.
“We call upon the Turkish government to get a proper understanding of the situation before making any further comments. These statements are factually incorrect, biased and unwarranted,” Mr Kumar said.
Responding to similar comments from Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the official said India and Malaysia have enjoyed “traditionally good and friendly ties” and asked the country to look at the facts of the Indian case on Jammu and Kashmir.
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In his speech at the UNGA, Prime Minister Mohamad had said India “invaded and occupied” Kashmir.
“The current developments in J & K and Ladakh is a purely internal matter of India and does not involve any third country. The Government of Malaysia should bear in mind the friendly relations between the two countries and desist from making such comments,” said M. Kumar, pointing out that India has taken note of the comment by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.