By Gokhan Celiker
ANKARA (AA) – India's policies in the Jammu and Kashmir region are aimed at changing the region's demographics, said Pakistan's ambassador to Türkiye.
Addressing an event at Pakistan’s Embassy in Ankara in connection with the Kashmir Black Day on Wednesday, Ambassador Yousaf Junaid expressed his gratitude to the attendees and pointed out that historically, India had "illegally occupied" the Jammu and Kashmir region through the use of military force.
The event was attended by the Chairman of the Turkish Parliament Human Rights Inquiry Commission and Justice and Development (AK) Party lawmaker Derya Yanik, AK Party lawmaker Burhan Kayaturk, and Strategic Thinking Institute (SDE) Defense and Security Council Chairman Guray Alpar, along with many other guests.
Junaid also pointed out that the Kashmir issue is one of the oldest unresolved problems on the agenda of the UN Security Council.
He said there are more than 900,000 Indian military and paramilitary forces stationed in the region, highlighting that many Kashmiris have been killed and detained by the Indian security forces since 1989.
Noting that India's actions are in violation of international law, the ambassador said the Indian strategies in the area are intended to alter the population makeup, drawing a parallel with the situation in Palestine.
He praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Türkiye’s position on the Kashmir issue and concluded his speech, saying: “May the Turkish-Pakistani brotherhood thrive.”
Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.
Since India and Pakistan were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965, and 1971 – two of them over Kashmir.
*Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul