Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke extensively about the issue in 2019 after India abrogated Article 370, and also raised Kashmir at the UNGA in 2021. (Reuters file photo)India on Wednesday categorically rejected references to the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir in a joint communique released by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Jammu & Kashmir, after a meeting was held on the sidelines of the 81st session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.The statement came hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had also raised the Kashmir issue during his address to world leaders on Tuesday. Alongside Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Niger are part of the 57-member group.“The OIC has no locus standi to pronounce on matters that are strictly internal to India. The entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India, and no amount of repetition of politically motivated propaganda can change this reality,” said a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday.“Repeated endorsement of such motivated narratives only raises serious questions on the credibility of OIC,” it said, while rejecting the unwarranted and “factually incorrect” references to India in the joint communique of the so-called OIC Contact Group.“Instead of offering a platform to Pakistan to peddle its fabricated and motivated propaganda, the OIC will be better advised to counsel Pakistan, which has a well-documented record of supporting and sponsoring terrorism, to look inwards and address the continuing threat of terrorism emanating from territories under its control,” the MEA said.During the group’s meeting, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had urged OIC member states to keep Kashmir a top priority and maintain a unified diplomatic stance. As per the communique, the OIC Contact Group reaffirmed support for the Kashmiri right to self-determination, requested the release of political prisoners, and urged the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions.Earlier, addressing the UNGA, Erdogan said, “In South Asia, it is important that all disputes, including the Kashmir issue, be addressed through dialogue within the framework of the United Nations Charter and of relevant resolutions.”Story continues below this adThe remarks came in the presence of Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif and marked another instance of Erdogan using the platform to raise the Kashmir issue despite India’s repeated objections to third-party involvement. In September last year, he had called for a resolution on Kashmir from the same podium.Erdogan spoke extensively about the issue in 2019 after India abrogated Article 370, and also raised Kashmir at the UNGA in 2021. In 2020 as well, Erdogan, in a pre-recorded video statement to the General Debate, referred to Jammu & Kashmir. In 2024, however, Erdogan did not mention the Kashmir issue in his UNGA speech.New Delhi had called the statements “completely unacceptable”, saying Turkey should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its own policies more deeply.India-Turkey ties had also come under strain following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack and the subsequent Operation Sindoor against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Erdogan had expressed solidarity with Pakistan and called for de-escalation.Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More