India rejects Erdogan's 'unwarranted references' on J&K, says no external party has any locus standi on the issue

New Delhi: India on Tuesday rejected the "unwarranted references" to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir made by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his address at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) recently, asserting that no external party has any locus standi on the issue.

"You would have seen that these remarks you refer to were made by the Turkish President. India rejects the unwarranted references to the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir made by the President of Turkey during his UNGA address. This is a matter, as you would understand, pertaining to India's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and no external party has any locus standi on this issue," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi.

The Turkish President has raised the issue at the General Assembly in the past as well, drawing a similar response from New Delhi.

Last year, India had made its "well-known stance" on Kashmir clear once again, under which there is no scope for any third-party role or mediation.

"Our statement on Kashmir is clear. Everyone is aware of our position on Kashmir over the past few years," Jaiswal said in September 2025 while responding to a question on Erdogan making remarks on Kashmir at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Last week, India rejected the references made about the country in the Joint Communique of the OIC's so-called "Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir", terming them "unwarranted and factually incorrect" and said that the grouping has no locus standi to pronounce on its internal matters.

The MEA said that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an "integral and inalienable" part of India, and "no amount of repetition of politically motivated propaganda can change this reality".

"India categorically rejects the unwarranted and factually incorrect references to India in the Joint Communique of the so-called OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir. The OIC has no locus standi to pronounce on matters that are strictly internal to India," it had said.

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