Türkiye calls for Pakistan-India dialogue to resolve Kashmir dispute

Türkiye has called on Pakistan and India to settle contentious Kashmir dispute between them through "dialogue and collaboration."

A "fair and permanent solution" to the Kashmir dispute can only be attained via dialogue and collaboration between Pakistan and India, Türkiye's Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Ahmet Yildiz told a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation [OIC] Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meanwhile attended a meeting of the OIC Contact Group on European Muslims in New York City on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UNGA.

Fidan earlier held sessions with his counterparts from Azerbaijan, Greece, the Netherlands, Egypt, Switzerland and Germany.

On Tuesday, the first day of UNGA, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised Kashmir dispute during his address to the world leaders at the UNGA.

"Another development that will pave the way for regional peace, stability and prosperity in South Asia will be the establishment of a just and lasting peace in Kashmir through dialogue and cooperation between India and Pakistan,” Erdogan said in his address to the general debate.

Lingering dispute

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is administered by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full.

A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China since the Sino-India War in 1962. Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two South Asian countries have fought three wars – in 1948, 1965 and 1971.

Two of them were over Kashmir. In the Siachen Glacier region in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984.

A ceasefire came into effect in 2003.

Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989, according to human rights groups.