India slams Turkey, Malaysia for raising Kashmir at UNGA

India on Friday slammed statements made by Turkey and Malaysia at the United Nations General Assembly last month on Kashmir, calling the statements made by the two countries "not based on facts."

Reacting to Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, "Deeply regret that since 6th of August there have been repeated statements by the Turkish government on a matter which is completely internal to India. These statements are factually incorrect, biased and unwarranted."

"We call on govt of turkey to get a proper understanding of the situation on the ground before they make any further statements," he added. 

Speaking at UNGA in New York last month, Turkish President Erdogan said, "Despite the resolutions adopted by the UNSC, Kashmir is still besieged and eight million people are still stuck in Kashmir."

On Malaysia, the MEA spokesperson said, "We have had traditionally, good and friendly ties with Malaysia. We were quite surprised and deeply regret the comments made by the Prime Minister of Malaysia."

The MEA said the statement is "not based on facts" and asked Malaysia to "desist from making such statements."

Last month in New York, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad accused India of "invading and occupying" Jammu and Kashmir.

Stating India's position, MEA reminded that the "state of J&K signed the instrument of accession" like all other princely states after British left the subcontinent and Pakistan "invaded & occupied" parts of J&K, a fact "recognised by United Nations". 

It also reiterated that the current development of removing the  special status of Jammu and Kashmir is a "purely internal matter of India."

Besides Pakistan, only three countries - Malaysia, Turkey and China - raised Kashmir at UNGA in New York last month, with India reacting to all three. All the three countries have close ties with Islamabad, with China building a massive infrastructure project China Pakistan economic corridor that passes through the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). 

India has also slammed China for raising Kashmir at UNGA, saying that the CPEC is changing the status quo of PoK.