Ankara | 29 April
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday asked India and Pakistan to reduce tensions, almost a week after a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam killed 26 people. The Turkish government also denied reports that Turkey sent planes carrying weapons to Pakistan during this time of rising tensions with India.
After a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdogan said, “We want the growing tensions between Pakistan and India to come down as soon as possible, before they turn into a more serious situation.”
He also said, according to China’s News Agency, “Turkey always makes it clear that we do not want new conflicts in our region or anywhere else.”
In the past, Erdogan and his government have often supported Pakistan, especially regarding the Kashmir issue. Erdogan has raised this issue at international platforms, but India has strongly responded by saying that Kashmir is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan and there is no place for third-party involvement.
Meanwhile, Turkey denied the reports that it sent six planes full of weapons to Pakistan. Officials explained that a Turkish plane only stopped in Pakistan for refueling and then continued its planned journey. Turkey’s Directorate of Communications wrote on social media platform X, “The claim reported by some media that ‘Turkey sent six aircraft full of weapons to Pakistan’ is not true.”
On April 22, a group of terrorists opened fire on tourists at the Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, killing at least 26 people, most of whom were tourists. This was the worst attack since the Pulwama attack on CRPF personnel in 2019.
The Resistance Front (TRF), which is linked to the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET), initially claimed responsibility for the attack. However, a few days later, the group withdrew its claim.
After the attack, India took strong diplomatic actions against Pakistan, such as halting the Indus Waters Treaty, closing the Attari-Wagah border, and stopping the issuing of visas to Pakistani nationals. Pakistan responded with similar actions, including suspending the Simla Agreement.
The Pahalgam attack was condemned by leaders around the world. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised that those responsible would be tracked down “to the ends of the Earth.”
