In General Assembly address, Erdogan urges settlement of Kashmir issue under UN resolutions

Published September 22, 2021
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the 76th Session of the General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on September 21. — Reuters
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the 76th Session of the General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on September 21. — Reuters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called for a solution to the decades-old Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan on the basis of the United Nations resolutions.

Addressing the 76th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), he said in a wide-ranging speech to the 193-member assembly: “We maintain our stance in favour of solving the ongoing problem in Kashmir for 74 years, through dialogue between the parties and within the framework of relevant United Nations resolutions.”

President Erdogan has consistently raised the Kashmir issue at the annual sessions of the UNGA.

At the 75th session, the Turkish leader had said: "The Kashmir conflict, which is also key to the stability and peace in South Asia, is still a burning issue. Steps taken following the abolition of the special status of [occupied] Jammu and Kashmir further complicated the problem."

His espousal of the Kashmir cause has evoked strong protests from India, which claims that Jammu and Kashmir is its "internal matter".

Meanwhile, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, secretary general of Washington-based advocacy group World Kashmir Awareness Forum, welcomed President Erdogan's reference to the Kashmir issue, saying his words have given the Kashmiri people encouragement.

President Erdogan's message, he said, is aimed at the promotion of dialogue among all parties to the dispute.

"This is the only means of achieving a genuine and lasting peace in this volatile conflict," Fai said, adding that Kashmiri people have suffered too long.

"They demand and they deserve peace," he added.

Over 100 world leaders are participating in the UNGA debate in person, with attendance in the assembly's iconic hall scaled down as a precaution against the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will address the assembly on September 24 (Friday) through a video-link.

Opinion

Editorial

Growth below target
15 May, 2026

Growth below target

Pakistan lacks the export-oriented industrial expansion that has driven sustained high growth in other economies.
Limited openings
15 May, 2026

Limited openings

FOR years, even the smallest suggestion of engagement with Pakistan would trigger outrage in India’s political...
Meetings denied
15 May, 2026

Meetings denied

FORMER prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, continue to be held incommunicado inside Adiala Jail....
Trump in Beijing
Updated 14 May, 2026

Trump in Beijing

China is no longer just a rising economic power.
Growing numbers
14 May, 2026

Growing numbers

FORWARD-looking nations do not just celebrate their advantages; they turn them into tangible gains. They also ...
No culling
14 May, 2026

No culling

CRUELTY implies an administrative failure to adopt humane solutions. Despite the Lahore High Court’s orders to use...