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Pakistan Hails Turkey’s Stance on Kashmir, Calls on India to Restore Article 370

Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan and Turkey support each other on all issues of core national interest—whether it is Jammu and Kashmir or Northern Cyprus.

June 1, 2022

Author

Statecraft Staff
Pakistan Hails Turkey’s Stance on Kashmir, Calls on India to Restore Article 370 
Pakistani FM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (L) and his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Ankara
IMAGE SOURCE: MEVLUT CAVUSOGLU/TWITTER

                                                         

OnTuesday, following a meeting between Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Ankara, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Bhutto Zardari “thanked the Turkish Government for its steadfast support and principled position on the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) dispute.”


Similarly, Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif told Anadolu Agency that “Pakistan and Turkey support each other on all issues of core national interest— whether it is Jammu and Kashmir or Northern Cyprus.” 

Sharif, who landed in Ankara on Tuesday, is on a three-day tour of the country as part of the 75th-anniversary celebrations of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Sharif is expected to meet his Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday.

“Both Pakistan and Turkey have a similarity of views on regional and international issues and enjoy close collaboration on bilateral, regional, and multilateral forums,” Sharif said.

While Sharif said that Pakistan and India “have a lot to gain from mutually beneficial trade,” he noted that the “illegal and unilateral” decision to revoke Article 370 of its constitution in 2019 was a “reprehensible Indian design of depriving the beleaguered Kashmiris of their fundamental rights through an unjust and muscular policy.” Article 370 granted J&K “special status” and gave it a certain amount of autonomy, including having its own constitution and making its own laws.

He added that the revocation was an attempt to further “brutalise” the Kashmiri people, change the region’s demographics, and deny the Kashmiris their right to self-determination. “For normalization of relations, India must revisit its actions of Aug. 5, 2019, and not seek further division, bifurcation, and demographic changes in the occupied territory to perpetuate its illegal occupation,” he stressed.

“In order to accrue the utmost benefit from mutually beneficial trade, the onus lies with India to create a conducive environment for dialogue and engagement,” Sharif said.

Turkey has historically sided with Pakistan on the J&K dispute and has on numerous occasions criticised India’s position on Kashmir. In 2019, Erdoğan criticised India for revoking the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir and its subsequent clampdown of the region. Earlier this year, he once again raised the issue of Kashmir at the United Nations General Assembly in New York and called on India to adhere to UN resolutions on the issue.

New Delhi has time and again reacted sharply to Erdoğan’s statement on Kashmir by urging Ankara to not interfere in its internal affairs. In fact, Indian PM Narendra Modi cancelled a visit to Ankara in 2019 over the Turkish President’s comments. New Delhi has also raked up the issue of Cyprus. In addition, India has sought to deepen ties with Greece by supporting Athens’ position on the Mediterranean dispute with Ankara and enhancing military ties.

Sharif’s visit comes as both countries face an unprecedented economic crisis. Pakistan’s foreign reserves have plummeted to just $16 billion and its current account deficit could hit $17.5 billion this year, or around 4.5% of its GDP. Furthermore, its trade deficit stands at $39.2 billion. As a result, Pakistan has been seeking over $1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of a bailout package.

Turkey, too, has been facing record levels of inflation as a result of Erdoğan’s continued interest rate cuts. The President has refused to budge on the issue and said that his decision is in line with Islamic principles. Turkey’s inflation rate jumped to almost 70% last month, consumer prices have risen by over 14%, and the Turkish Lira has depreciated by almost 50% to the United States Dollar (USD).

Against this backdrop, Bhutto and Çavuşoğlu agreed to boost mechanisms like the Strategic Economic Framework to improve joint cooperation in the economic field. Sharif also stated that he intended to increase bilateral trade from $1.1 billion to $5 billion in the next five years and promised to “roll out the red carpet” for Turkish businessmen investing in the country.”

During his trip, Sharif will meet with Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and also attend an event by the Pakistan-Turkey Business Council Forum. He is joined on the trip by Foreign Minister Bhutto Zardari, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Information and Broadcasting Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, and Minister for Board of Investment Chaudhry Salik Hussain.

Author

Statecraft Staff

Editorial Team

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