Erdogan and Khan discuss Kashmir tension

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday discussed the recent tension between Pakistan and India, Turkish presidential sources said.

According to a statement from the Pakistani prime ministry, Erdogan expressed appreciation for Imran Khan’s move to release a captured Indian fighter pilot that had entered Pakistani airspace on Wednesday.

The statement added that Khan thanked Erdogan for his “constant support for Pakistan and the Kashmiri people.”

Earlier in the day, Khan had said he would call Erdogan to ask for his help to defuse the tension with India. 

Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours have escalated following a suicide bombing claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in India-administered Kashmir that killed more than 40 Indian troops earlier this month.

On Tuesday, Indian jets entered Pakistan claiming to have killed several terrorists in a JeM training camp.

Pakistan, which has banned JeM since 2002 but is accused by India of providing the group a sanctuary, denied the claim saying the Indian jets had dropped bombs on empty forestland.

The two South Asian nations have fought three wars in 1948, 1965 and 1971 – two of them over Kashmir – since they were partitioned in 1947.