NEW DELHI: Ministry of external affairs on Tuesday slammed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for raising the Kashmir issue at the United Nations General Assembly and said that no external party has any locus standi on the issue of India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.During a bi-weekly press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal rejected Erdogan’s remarks and said, “You would have seen that the remarks you referred to were made by the Turkey president. India rejects the unwarranted references to India and the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir made by the President of Turkey during his address to the UN General Assembly.”“This is a matter, as you would understand, pertaining to India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and no external party has any locus standi on this issue,” he added.Earlier, on September 22, Erdogan had raised the Kashmir issue at UNGA, saying the matter “should be addressed through dialogue.”“In South Asia, it is important that all disputes, including the Kashmir issue, be addressed through dialogue within the framework of the United Nations Charter and of relevant resolutions,” he said.
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Turkey has raised the Kashmir issue on global platforms in the past as well.Notably, Erdogan-led Turkey has also formed a Nato-like military alliance with two other Islamic nations, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.The pact, known as the ‘Mecca Pact’, was signed between the three countries in August this year.India, however, has consistently rejected any third-party mediation in the Kashmir issue and repeatedly maintained that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.Following the Pakistan-sponsored terror attack in Pahalgam, India made it clear that New Delhi would only engage with Islamabad on Kashmir-related issues bilaterally.