When Kurds are not, Kashmiris certainly can't be Erdogan’s ‘brothers and sisters’

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been repeatedly mentioning Kashmir in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) like a broken record for at least the last six years, only making a surprising exception in the year 2024. This year, in 2025, the words he chose while bringing up the Kashmir ‘issue’ in the UNGA were extremely curious, and therefore, it seems essential to unpack them and see why almost everything in his statement was either inaccurate or unwarranted.

He first mentioned that the issue of Kashmir should be resolved on the basis of UN resolutions; however, it seems like he is unaware of the UN resolution on Kashmir in the first place.

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United Nations Security Council Resolution 47 (April 21,1948) states:

“The Government of Pakistan should undertake to use its best endeavours:
(a) To secure the withdrawal from the State of Jammu and Kashmir of tribesmen and Pakistani nationals not normally resident therein who have entered the State for the purpose of fighting, and to prevent any intrusion into the State of such elements and any furnishing of material aid to those fighting in the State.”

One does not need to be an expert in legislative drafting or a scholar of international relations to discern this statement and understand the actions expected from the State of Pakistan for the peace in the region. Unfortunately, not only has Pakistan not withdrawn its presence from PoK, but it has also doubled down on sponsoring cross-border terrorism on Indian soil. The Pahalgam terror attack, where at least 26 Indian civilians were killed on the basis of their religion, is the latest in the series of hideous terror attacks Pakistan has been orchestrating against Indian citizens, which, for the kind information of President Erdogan, also violates the UN Resolution on Kashmir that he so affectionately mentioned.

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Since President Erdogan is a huge believer in the UN resolutions, and the UN resolution on Kashmir clearly spells out the prerequisites expected from Pakistan, it is natural to enquire about the president’s position vis-à-vis Pakistan, the biggest hindrance to peace in the valley. Is Turkey pressuring Pakistan to withdraw its troops from the PoK? And where will Erdogan find those ’tribesmen’ who invaded Kashmir, looting and plundering the Kashmiri people?

To the contrary, when India justly retaliated to the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam, Turkey not only helped Pakistan in its war against India with over 350 drones but also with operators. Pakistan had reportedly used Bayraktar TB2 and YIHA drones against India, believed to be used for target designation and potentially kamikaze strikes, especially to threaten forward Indian positions or supply convoys. Colonel Sofiya Qureshi mentioned in a press briefing on Operation Sindoor that forensic investigation of the wreckage of the drones suggests that they are Turkish Asisguard Songar drones.

It is also extremely troubling that Turkey might have gained the ability and expertise to develop such drones based on exports from India. Although Turkey has prohibited the sale of drones and other weapons to India, many of India’s exports to Turkey are items that can be utilised in drone manufacturing. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, India’s exports to Turkey have grown, with engineering goods making up the largest share. Key export categories include aluminium and aluminium products, automotive components, aircraft and aircraft parts, telecom equipment, and electrical machinery.

Not to mention that in response to the 2023 earthquake in Turkey, India mounted a rapid humanitarian aid effort under Operation Dost, sending medicines, medical equipment, and life-saving supplies worth over ₹7 crore. The relief included ventilators, ECG machines, anaesthetic equipment, wheelchairs, diagnostic kits, and essential drugs, along with specialised search-and-rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force, dog squads, and advanced drones to locate survivors. India also deployed a 30-bed field hospital staffed by army medical personnel, providing surgical and emergency care on the ground. Even though India did not extend out a helping hand in that time of need to ensure favourable political opinions later, calling India’s just retaliation “provocative” right after this gesture was quite telling.

Another part of President Erdogan’s statement that stood out was “…for the best for our brothers and sisters in Kashmir…”. While the phrasing is seemingly innocuous and affectionate, the undertones are extremely sinister and hideous. On what grounds would a head of state call the people of a particular Indian state his brothers and sisters? No, President Erdogan, Kashmiris are not your brothers and sisters. The message clearly insinuated a communal rhetoric of a global Muslim brotherhood, which, time and again, is proven to be a chimerical fantasy.

It is rather ironic that the Muslim population that is oppressed and that can literally be referred to as “brothers and sisters” by President Erdogan are the Kurds. For all his rhetoric of Islamic solidarity, Erdogan’s domestic policies have been marked by systematic crackdowns on Kurdish political movements, suppression of their cultural rights, and military campaigns that have displaced thousands of Kurdish civilians. Under his watch, Kurdish leaders have been jailed, their parties banned, and their aspirations for autonomy dismissed as terrorism. The same leader who positions himself as the defender of Muslims worldwide spares little thought for the millions of Kurds within Turkey and across its borders, treating them not as brethren but as threats to be neutralised. This duplicity lays bare the hollowness of his appeals to a global Muslim fraternity, exposing them as little more than instruments of political opportunism.

India is, therefore, deeply troubled by the treatment of Kurds within Turkey and is closely monitoring the situation on the ground, appealing to the state to restore their rights and discontinue their cultural erasure.

Turkey’s record of respecting sovereignty is also blemished by its illegal occupations, which stand in stark contradiction to its loud proclamations on Kashmir, which is and always has been an integral part of India.

In northern Syria, Ankara’s military incursions have not only violated international law but also displaced thousands of civilians under the guise of counterterrorism, effectively redrawing borders at will. Likewise, in Cyprus, Turkey’s continued occupation of the northern part of the island since 1974 remains a glaring breach of international norms, condemned by the UN yet sustained through force. These actions reveal a pattern where Turkey demands rights for others abroad while trampling upon them in its own neighbourhood, eroding any moral ground from which President Erdogan might lecture the world.

Moreover, another example of an oppressed Muslim minority facing literal genocide and ethnic cleansing is the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China. In what the international community increasingly recognises as crimes against humanity, the Uyghurs have been subjected to mass internment, forced labour, sterilisation campaigns, destruction of religious sites, and the systematic erasure of their cultural and linguistic identity.

Families have been torn apart under the pretext of “re-education”, mosques have been demolished, and surveillance technologies track every movement of the community to ensure total compliance. The scale and severity of the repression are such that it cannot be dismissed as mere authoritarian control; it bears the unmistakable markings of an attempt to annihilate a people’s existence, both physically and spiritually, under the guise of national security and counterterrorism.

What makes this even more ironic is the position of Turkey, a nation that projects itself as the self-appointed guardian of Muslim causes. Once a haven for Uyghur exiles fleeing persecution, Turkey under Erdogan has not only muted its criticism of Beijing but has also started to toe the Chinese Communist Party’s narrative on Xinjiang. In some reported cases, Uyghurs who sought safety in Turkey have been extradited back to China, effectively handed over to their persecutors.

This betrayal illustrates the transactional nature of Erdogan’s foreign policy, where economic deals and political alliances outweigh moral obligations and religious solidarity. Just as with the Kurds, the lofty rhetoric of “brotherhood” collapses when confronted with the harsh calculus of power, exposing the emptiness of appeals to a global Muslim fraternity when they clash with Ankara’s geopolitical interests.

Not that it matters in the present context, but it is extremely interesting to note that Uyghurs are ethnically Turks, so they, as people, fit better in President Erdogan’s definition of “brothers and sisters” than Kashmiris, whom he has no locus standi to speak on behalf of.

Perhaps President Erdogan’s silence on the atrocities in Xinjiang has less to do with strategic prudence and more to do with the fact that his own record in this regard is far from spotless. It would be hypocritical for him to condemn Beijing’s authoritarian excesses when Turkey itself has become one of the world’s largest jailers of journalists, where dissenting voices are systematically silenced, and press freedom has all but collapsed under his rule.

Independent media outlets have been shut down or co-opted by pro-government cronies, critics are routinely charged with terrorism for nothing more than expressing opposition, and political opponents face harassment, imprisonment, or exile. The climate of fear Erdogan has cultivated at home mirrors the very authoritarianism he refuses to criticise abroad, making his complicity with China not only politically convenient but also ideologically consistent with his own brand of repressive governance.

India has always regarded Turkey as a friend and wishes to continue nurturing that relationship, but it cannot remain indifferent to the deeply undemocratic trajectory of President Erdogan’s policies. It would behove the Turkish president to first restore genuine democracy and freedoms within his own country before sermonising abroad.

If his concern for Muslims is sincere, he should begin by asking his close ally Pakistan to withdraw from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where the people have been denied basic rights for decades, and urge his other friend China to halt the genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. The fact remains that Kashmiris are flourishing and thriving within the fold of Indian democracy, enjoying the protections and opportunities guaranteed by the Constitution, and they hardly require Erdogan’s selective and one-sided “brotherly love”.

The writer takes special interest in history, culture and geopolitics. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.