Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 29: India on Tuesday rejected the “unwarranted references” to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his recent address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), asserting that no external party has any locus standi on the issue.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, during a bi-weekly media briefing here, said the remarks made by Erdogan concerned India’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“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,” Jaiswal said.

Erdogan has raised the Kashmir issue at the UN General Assembly in the past as well, drawing similar responses from New Delhi.

In September 2025, India had reiterated its “well-known stance” on Kashmir, making it clear that there was 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 had said while responding to a question about Erdogan's remarks on Kashmir during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.

Last week, India also rejected references to the country in a Joint Communique issued by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) so-called “Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir”, describing them as “unwarranted and factually incorrect”.

The MEA said the grouping had no locus standi to comment on matters that were strictly internal to India.

India has maintained that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an “integral and inalienable” part of the country and that politically motivated statements cannot alter this position.

“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,” the MEA had said.