Azad (Free) Jammu and Kashmir is awaiting Turkish investment amid strengthening ties with Ankara, its president said Friday.
Investments could be made in roads, energy and education in Azad Kashmir, said Sardar Masood Khan, speaking in Turkey’s capital, Ankara.
"We have much to learn from Turkey in the tourism sector as well," said Khan, referring to recent statistics.
He said that while 37 million tourists visited Turkey in 2018, only 1.5 million visited Azad Kashmir that year.
He stressed that the people of Azad Kashmir still remember Turkey’s assistance during the 2005 earthquake, adding Turkey was the first country to lend a hand with rescue operations, providing shelter and repairing damaged buildings.
Khan also thanked Turkey for showing solidarity with Azad Jammu and Kashmir at the international level.
"One day, India-administrated Kashmir will be independent like Pakistan and Turkey," he added.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of the region is also held by China.
Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Azad Kashmir.
Indian and Pakistani troops have also fought intermittently in the Siachen glacier area of northern Kashmir since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.
Some Kashmiri groups in Azad Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.
Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict since 1989, according to several human rights organizations.
Kashmir is grateful for Turkey’s support to the cause at international forums, president of Pakistan-administered Kashmir said on Friday.
“We are very grateful to Turkey for supporting the cause of Kashmir at international forums,” President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan said.
He was speaking at a conference -- titled Kashmir Dispute and Role of International Community -- organized by Institute of Strategic Thinking in Turkey’s capital Ankara.
“Turkey recognizes that the international community has to play a role in the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute,” Khan said.
Khan stressed that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has “initiated many efforts” in this regard.
He said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also brought attention to the dispute in the meetings of the OIC.
Khan stressed that the issue is not a bilateral issue between Pakistan and India as Jammu and Kashmir is the third party.
“My first premise is that Kashmir is an international issue and that it cannot be a bilateral issue,” he added.
Khan said many rounds of discussions between Pakistan and India were “unproductive”, and added: “Pakistan was sincere, India was not; Pakistan wanted a resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and India wanted to delay the process.”
“India deployed 780,000 troops to conquer unarmed civilians in Kashmir,” the president of Azad Kashmir said, adding: “They [India] tell lies about people of Kashmiris that they are terrorists, but they are unarmed people.”
Khan said that the U.S. government and India “got aligned strategically” and that India has “succeeded in deluding” Washington that India would protect the U.S. interest in the region.
