Erdogan fires fresh Kashmir salvo: Time to put Turkey in its place

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has always been India’s pride and an inalienable part. However, it has been the cynosure of our neighbour Pakistan’s eyes and even the envy of some of Pakistan’s bosom friends (Turkey, Azerbaijan, etc). There is nothing unusual about the Pakistani outburst on Kashmir at every forum for the last seven decades, be it regional or international. For Islamabad, raising the Kashmir issue is a sort of ritual, a regular phenomenon, and, most importantly, a tactical ploy to browbeat India and deflect world attention from its wrongdoings (continuous support to terrorism). In its abortive bid, its friends and cohorts, like Turkey and Azerbaijan, also raise the Kashmir issue on and off.

In the second week of this month, Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during his visit to Islamabad, raised the Kashmir issue. The Indian government lodged its objections in the strongest words. India has handed over a strong demarche to the Ambassador of Turkey to India. According to the spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, “These remarks reflect neither an understanding of history nor of the conduct of diplomacy. They distort events of the past to advance a narrow-minded view of the present.” While dubbing the episode as “one more example of a pattern of Turkey interfering in India’s internal affairs," the spokesperson stated this will have “strong implications in our relationship”.

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In one previous piece in the Firstpost, this author argued that Turkey is the second country after Pakistan to raise the Kashmir issue several times on all platforms (national, regional, and international). Since the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir in August 2019 and the subsequent reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory, Turkey has become a more vociferous critic of the Indian establishment. Erdogan has been constantly advocating the Kashmir issue, particularly at the UN General Assembly, since 2000. Five years ago, the same Erdogan, just a few months after the abrogation of Article 370, during his visit to Islamabad, flagged the Kashmir issue while addressing the joint session of the Pakistan Parliament.

Next, Azerbaijan is also known for its anti-Kashmir or anti-India vicarious tirades. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev during his visit to Pakistan last July (his second visit in 7 years), preceded by Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in May (2024), sparked debates in Indian policy-making circles. Both the top Azeri leaders have not only raked up the Jammu and Kashmir issue during their subsequent trips but also supported Pakistan’s stand on the Kashmir issue.

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This was not the first time Azeri leaders have shown solidarity with Pakistan’s stand on Jammu and Kashmir. Top Azeri leaders, diplomats, think tanks, human rights organisations, and social media arms (especially YouTube channels) have not only subscribed to Pakistan’s position on Jammu and Kashmir but also raised this issue at many local, regional, bilateral, multilateral, and global platforms. In the last half a dozen years, Baku has been vocal about the Jammu and Kashmir issue, especially in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meetings, conferences, and programmes.

Similarly, Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini expressed concern over the excesses against Muslims in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, and described the situation in Kashmir as similar to that of Palestine. There is nothing new in his views on Kashmir. However, nobody subscribes to the mad whims of a person like Khomeini, who overtly supports terrorist infrastructure like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthi. These three dangerous terrorist organisations have been responsible for widespread carnage in the Middle East.

Erdogan, Aliyev, and Khomeini, who continue to spew venom against India, have no right to interfere in India’s internal affairs by joining Pakistan’s recurring rant on Jammu and Kashmir. No nation-state can tolerate any foreign country’s bid to encroach upon its sovereignty. These self-styled pioneers of global Islamic values hardly say any word about the genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, fearing Chinese backlash, which shows their double standards. Since India has never intervened in the internal affairs of any of the above three countries, they should respect India’s sovereignty.

The Indian government has sent strong signals to Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Iran to understand and acknowledge the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as an integral and inalienable part of India. As a responsible member of the world community, Turkey must understand that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others. India must think several times about the Turkish bid to become a member of the BRICS, where India is one of the founding members.

Similarly, Baku should refrain from supporting Pakistan’s cross-border terrorist activity in Jammu and Kashmir, which has led to a considerable loss of innocent lives and public property. Azerbaijan’s stand on the Jammu and Kashmir issue, which the leaders above have reiterated several times, does not augur well for the India-Azerbaijan relationship, particularly their nearly 1.5 billion dollars of bilateral trade. As per the report of the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, by 2023, India was the seventh largest trading partner for Azerbaijan (with the balance of bilateral trade in Baku’s favour), the third largest destination of Azerbaijani crude oil, and the largest source of tourists for Azerbaijan. Besides, Azerbaijan is India’s largest trade partner among the countries surrounding the South Caucasus.

The world community must comprehend the widespread participation of the people of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the Assembly Elections last year. It is essential to note that the Election Commission of India conducted the Assembly Elections in the UT after a gap of six years. The peaceful completion of the elections and establishment of a government under Chief Minister Omar Abdulla symbolise peace and stability in Jammu and Kashmir. It is certainly a tight slap on the faces of those (for example, Pakistan, China, Turkey, Azerbaijan, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Organisation of Islamic Conference, Iran, etc.) who have been nursing a grudge against India after the abolition of Article 370. The peaceful atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir is a testament to India’s right step at the right moment to preserve and conserve its “integral, indivisible, and inalienable” part.

Mahesh Ranjan Debata teaches at the Center for Inner Asian Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.