ISLAMABAD - A Kashmiri leader has expressed gratitude for the Turkish government and its people for standing by them in a difficult time when millions of Kashmiri are under a near-complete lockdown since Aug. 5, after the Indian government scrapped the special status of the valley.
Talking with a delegation of Turkish journalists in capital Islamabad, the convener of All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir chapter, Syed Abdullah Gilani, said Turkey and Pakistan are the two countries who raised voice and supported the Kashmiri people on every international forum.
“We are thankful to the Turkish government and people of Turkey who have always stood by us,” Gilani said.
”Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu defended us in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting,” he added.
Gilani said that there are two countries in the world, Turkey and Pakistan, and their great peoples who always supported them in difficult times.
Talking about the current situation of Indian-administered Kashmir, Gilani informed that the valley has been completely disconnected from the rest of the world since Aug. 5, and Indian authorities put over eight million people in a cage.
“People are facing food and medicine shortage, and even they can not go to the hospital,” Gilani said.
Those who are resisting against the Indian illegal move are facing brutal actions of Indian forces, he added.
“You can freely go and stay in Azad Kashmir but you couldn’t go to Indian side of Kashmir,” Gilani told Turkish journalists.
He termed the international community is responsible for current situation of Kashmir who never put pressure on India to implement the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution on Kashmir. - Anadolu Agency