New Delhi: India on Monday asserted that Kashmir was an Indo-Pak bilateral matter, essentially due to cross-border terrorism.
India’s reaction came after visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had advocated a multilateral dialogue to resolve Kashmir issue.
Erdogan had made the comment an exclusive interview with WION ahead of his visit to India.
Erdogan had said, “We should not allow more casualties to occur (in Kashmir). By having a multilateral dialogue, (in which) we can be involved, we can seek ways to settle the issue once and for all.”
India maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter between it and Pakistan and that there is no scope for a third party mediation.
Asked if the Kashmir issue or Erdogan’s proposal of multilateral dialogue to resolve it figured during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Turkish President, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay said India’s position that Kashmir is its integral part is very sharp and publicly known.
“We conveyed our viewpoint clearly on terrorism and Kashmir (to the Turkish side). It was made clear that there cannot be any justification for terrorism whatever is the intent. We clearly conveyed that the issue of Kashmir is essentially an issue of terrorism. “We told them that we have been victims of cross-border terrorism and and state-sponsored terrorism for 40 years. As far as Kashmir issue is concerned, we have always been ready to resolve it with Pakistan. Not only Kashmir but also all other bilateral issues should be resolved in a peaceful manner,” Baglay said, as per PTI.
He also said that the government has made many attempts to have bilateral talks with Pakistan to address issues, including Kashmir as per the Shimla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration.
Asked about the response of the Turkish side, Baglay said they heard it “care and attention”.
(With Agency inputs)
Source: Zee News