India Friday dismissed remarks made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Jammu and Kashmir after New Delhi changed the status of the north Indian state, stating that these are not based on facts
OCT 4, 2019 South Asia Monitor
New Delhi: India Friday dismissed remarks made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Jammu and Kashmir after New Delhi changed the status of the north Indian state, stating that these are not based on facts.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, in his weekly media briefing here, said that though India has friendly ties with Turkey and Malaysia, both Erdogan and Mohamad made the remarks without understanding the situation on the ground.
Kumar said that India deeply regretted “that since August 6, there have been repeated statements by the Turkish government on a matter completely internal to India”.
“These statements are factually incorrect, biased and unwarranted,” he said.
“We call upon the Turkish government to get a proper understanding of the situation before making any further comments.”
Erdogan had, in his address at the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly last month, said that despite the UN resolutions “eight million people are stuck” in Kashmir.
He had called for the Kashmir issue to be solved through dialogue rather than conflict and criticised the international community for failing to pay attention to the issue.
The Indian Parliament in August this year abrogated Articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the north Indian state into two union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh – that will be governed directly by the central government in New Delhi.
Though there has been criticism from certain quarters in the international community, India has maintained that it is strictly an internal matter.
As for Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamad’s comments, Kumar said that India deeply regretted “these comments since it is not based on facts”.
Mohamad, in his address at the UN General Assembly, said: “Now, despite the UN resolution on Jammu and Kashmir, the country has been invaded and occupied… There may be reasons for this action but it is still wrong. India should work with Pakistan to resolve this problem. Ignoring the UN would lead to other forms of disregard for the UN and the Rule of Law.”
In reaction, Kumar, in his briefing Friday, said: “Jammu and Kashmir signed the same Instrument of Accession as was done by other princely states. Pakistan invaded and illegally occupied parts of Jammu and Kashmir, a fact which has been recognised by the international community. The current developments in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are purely internal matter of India and does not involve any third country.”