Modi cancels Turkey visit for supporting Pakistan on Kashmir cause

NEW DELHI (92 News) – Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has cancelled his two-day official visit to Turkey after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly raised occupied Kashmir issue at UNGA and supported Pakistan’s stance on Occupied Kashmir. It is pertinent to mention here that Modi was scheduled to depart on a two-day official visit to Ankara at the end of this month (October) following visit to Saudi Arabia, where he is going on October 27-28 to attend a mega investment summit. Erdogan raised the Kashmir issue at the UNGA and also backed Pakistan at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meet in Paris. Erdogan’s strong backing of Pakistan on Kashmir and highlighting widespread human rights violations during his speech at the UN General Assembly last month has not gone down well with India. In response to this, the Indian government has cancelled a two-day official visit to Ankara by Modi in the backdrop of Erdogan’s UNGA speech. The decision to cancel the visit to Turkey marks a low in relations between New Delhi and Ankara, which have never been very warm. Modi had last visited Turkey during the G20 in Antalya in 2015. He had held a bilateral with Erdogan in Osaka, on the sidelines of the G20 in June this year. The Turkish leader had paid a two-day visit to India in July 2018. At the FATF meeting too, Turkey and Malaysia, along with China, have openly backed Pakistan, which was invaluable in getting Islamabad a lifeline of four months till February 2020 to "eliminate" money laundering and terrorist financing. On the other hand, in IoK, the people of Kashmir Valley and Muslim majority areas of Jammu region continue to reel under military clampdown and internet suspension on the 77th consecutive day, today. Normal life remains paralyzed due to restrictions and gag on internet and cellular services except for partial restoration of postpaid and landline phones. People continue to observe shutdown as a silent protest against India’s brutal actions in the territory. Shops and business establishments remain closed most of the time except for few hours in the morning and evening. People particularly patients and doctors are facing difficulties in reaching the hospitals in the absence of public transport.