India Rejects Erdogan’s J&K References, Cites Territorial Integrity And Sovereignty
New Delhi reiterates its position on external involvement in J&K.
India on Tuesday rejected what it described as “unwarranted references” to Jammu and Kashmir made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his recent address to the United Nations General Assembly. The Ministry of External Affairs reiterated that the issue concerns India's territorial integrity and sovereignty and asserted that no external party has any role in the matter.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the remarks during a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi. Responding to questions about Erdogan's comments, Jaiswal said India rejects the references to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and maintained that the issue falls within India's territorial jurisdiction.
Jaiswal also pointed out that Erdogan has raised the Kashmir issue at the UN General Assembly in the past, prompting similar responses from New Delhi. India has consistently maintained that there is no scope for a third-party role or mediation on the issue, a position reiterated by the MEA in response to similar remarks by the Turkish President during the previous UNGA session.
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The latest exchange comes after India also rejected references to Jammu and Kashmir in a joint communique issued by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's so-called Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir. The MEA described those references as unwarranted and factually incorrect and said the grouping had no locus standi to comment on matters it considers internal to India.
The Ministry of External Affairs reiterated that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an “integral and inalienable” part of India. It also rejected what it described as politically motivated assertions concerning the territories, maintaining that repeated statements by external groups would not alter India's position on their status.
India's latest response therefore continues its established position that Jammu and Kashmir is an issue concerning India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The government has maintained that external parties have no locus standi on the matter, while similar references by Turkey and other international groupings have continued to draw diplomatic responses from New Delhi.
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