On Friday, the Indian government came down heavily on Turkey's President Erdogan for his recent comment about Kashmir. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has dismissed recent remarks by Turkey's President Erdogan about Kashmir, calling them "objectionable."

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, during a weekly press briefing, stated that India has strongly protested by communicating its concerns to the Turkish ambassador. He emphasised that such "unwarranted statements" about India's sovereignty and territorial integrity are "unacceptable."

"We reject such objectionable comments on matters that are eternal to India. We have lodged a strong protest with the Turkish ambassador. Such unwarranted statements on India's territorial integrity and sovereignty are unacceptable. Jammu and Kashmir are integral parts of India. It would have been better if Pakistan's policy of using cross-border terrorism against India, which remains the biggest threat to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, has been called out," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. 

Following his discussions with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Turkish president last week urged for UN dialogue to address the Kashmir issue. "The Kashmir issue should be addressed according to the UN resolution through dialogue and keeping in mind the aspirations of the people of Kashmir," he said. "Our state and our nation, as in the past, stands in solidarity with our Kashmiri brothers today," he added. 

However, Erdogan's comments faced harsh reply from India. Calling them unwarranted interference in its internal matters, India lodged a formal protest. 

India has consistently stated that Jammu and Kashmir, along with Ladakh, have always been and will always remain an integral part of the country. Relations between India and Pakistan worsened after India removed Article 370 from the Constitution on August 5, 2019. This decision ended the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and split the region into two Union Territories.

President Erdogan also expressed a strong desire to strengthen relations with Pakistan in his remarks. “In the seventh session of our council, which we just concluded, we have agreed to further strengthen our relationship,” he said. At the 7th Pakistan-Turkiye High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting, both countries agreed to keep working towards a trade target of USD 5 billion. The meeting ended with the two leaders signing a joint declaration to strengthen, expand, and formalise their Strategic Partnership.