Turkey voices 'deep concern’ over Kashmir issue

By Faruk Zorlu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey is "deeply" concerned with the security and humanitarian situation in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.

"Turkey sincerely desires that Kashmir issue is resolved through peaceful means between India and Pakistan based on relevant UN resolutions in line with aspirations of the people of Kashmir," Cavusoglu tweeted.

His remarks came after a Jeddah meeting of Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir in Saudi Arabia, where he will hand over Turkey’s presidency of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to Saudi Arabia.

Turkey assumed the OIC term presidency in 2016.

Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan 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 they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.