Turkey pledges to support Pakistan on Kashmir at UN

ISLAMABAD: Turkey has assured Pakistan of complete support in its quest for a peaceful solution to the long-standing issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

"In the group, which has been formed over Kashmir in the UN, we will stand with Pakistan and try to make [its efforts] successful," the visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a press conference he jointly addressed with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi after a formal round of talks between the two sides on Friday.

He said it was Turkey's desire that the Kashmir dispute involving India and Pakistan was resolved in a peaceful manner.

Cavusoglu and Qureshi say both countries will collectively confront Islamophobia

Mr Qureshi welcomed Turkey's decision to support Pakistan's bid for a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue at the UN. He said: "At the United Nations, there will be a separate conference on Kashmir on the sidelines. It happens every year, but it is different this time because a new UN report has come out which sheds light on India-occupied Kashmir," he said.

There had certainly been a surge in people's interest in human rights abuses which were taking place in Kashmir, he added.

The Turkish foreign minister said: "In today's meeting, I discussed a lot of issues with FM Qureshi. The most important aspect of our discussion was on the [High-Level] Strategic [Cooperation] Council, the sixth conference of which, God willing, will take place in Pakistan, and we will do all we can to make it happen.

"We have strengthened our commercial ties, and [decided to facilitate] our companies that want to work in Pakistan. We have a unique relation, therefore, we should work together to further enhance our relations. The security issue for both the countries is important and so is the economic and military cooperation."