New York [US], September 22 (ANI): Days after signing a trilateral mutual defence alliance with Islamabad, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took the floor at the 81st United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday in which he sought to echo Pakistan’s anti-India playbook on Kashmir and also talked of dialogue.
The trilateral pact, known as the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, was signed in Mecca on August 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Addressing the assembly in New York, Erdogan raised the Kashmir bogey. "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. Provided that constructive action is taken, all issues can possibly be resolved. And the same applies to tensions on the African continent also," he remarked.
Erdogan’s rhetoric comes just weeks after Ankara, Islamabad, and Riyadh concluded the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, a pact that effectively binds Turkey to Pakistan’s security orbit.
Under the Shimla agreement, India and Pakistan have resolved to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations.
India has repeatedly emphasised that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the country. India holds that Pakistan has repeatedly devalued bilateral diplomacy by responding to every peace overture, from the 1999 Lahore Declaration to 2015's Lahore outreach, with cross-border terror attacks. Following major strikes like Kargil, 26/11, Pathankot, and Pulwama, New Delhi firmly maintains that "talks and terror cannot go together," placing full responsibility on Islamabad for dismantling diplomatic frameworks.
Earlier on Tuesday, India delivered a robust diplomatic rebuff to Pakistan, exposing Islamabad's persistent reliance on manufacturing falsehoods and distorting facts regarding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal issued a resolute statement during a weekly media briefing in New Delhi, decisively puncturing Islamabad's claims surrounding an alleged pronouncement by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
"I would like to say that Pakistan has a habit of misrepresenting facts and propagating falsehoods to serve its malicious propaganda. For starters, the so-called ruling is not a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, as sought to be projected by the Pakistani minister. It is a ruling by an illegally constituted court. We see this as just one more attempt by Pakistan to distort reality. Our position on this issue is very clear, and we have reiterated it several times," Jaiswal stated.
During the Turkish President's address, the Israeli delegation abruptly walked out of the United Nations General Assembly hall, Al Jazeera reported.
Erdogen launched a fierce condemnation of Israel's military operations in Gaza, equating the enclave to a modern concentration camp and accusing Israeli forces of "state terror."
Expressing his grief over the toll on Palestinian children “as a father and as a grandfather who cherishes his children and grandchildren,” the Turkish leader leveled severe accusations against Israel's military campaign.
Highlighting the human cost of the conflict, Erdogan told the assembly that “at least 74,000 people have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza over the past three years”, characterizing the offensive as “state terror”. (ANI)
Days after Mecca pact with Pakistan, Turkish President Erdogan raises Kashmir bogey at UNGA
