India slams Turkey, braces for war of words with Pakistan over J&K in UN

India has advised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to “learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations” after he referred to Jammu and Kashmir during a speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

The United Nations is also likely to witness a more intense war of words between New Delhi and Islamabad over Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) later this week. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is scheduled to address the 75th session of the General Assembly on Friday and he is likely to make the most of it to criticize India, particularly the August 5, 2019 decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to strip J&K of its special status and reorganise the state into two Union Territories, just as he did last year.

Modi, himself, is also likely to address the UNGA on Saturday, but he is unlikely to respond to the critical remarks by Khan. New Delhi is likely to deploy young diplomats at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in New York to exercise “Right to Reply” and respond to the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Like other leaders, both Modi and Khan will address the General Assembly virtually, in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The Kashmir conflict, which is also key to the stability and peace of South Asia, is still a burning issue,” Erdoğan said during his virtual speech at the UNGA. “Steps taken following the abolition of the special status of Jammu-Kashmir further complicated the problem,” said the Turkish President, adding, “We are in favour of solving this issue through dialogue, within the framework of the United Nations resolutions and especially in line with the expectations of the people of Kashmir.”

T S Tirumurti, New Delhi’s envoy to the UN, took to Twitter to lodge a strong protest.

“We have seen remarks by (the) President of Turkey on Indian UT (Union Territory) of Jammu & (and) Kashmir. They constitute gross interference in India’s internal affairs and are completely unacceptable,” he tweeted.

“Turkey should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its own policies more deeply."