Kashmiri leader praises Erdogan dialogue offer

By Zahid Rafiq

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

A senior Kashmiri resistance leader on Monday praised Turkish president Recip Tayyip Erdogan for seeking a resolution to the Kashmir conflict.

Erdogan is currently on a two-day official visit to India.

In a statement, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq -- head of the multi-party Hurriyat alliance -- welcomed the Turkish president's offer to support dialogue and also expressed “hope that Turkey, an influential Muslim country which is equally friends with both Pakistan and India, would use its offices to end the political instability in the region”.

He also said the Kashmiri people wanted good relations between India and Pakistan.

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

The two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- since they were partitioned in 1947, two of which were fought over Kashmir.

Kashmiri resistance groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

More than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed in the conflict since 1989. India maintains more than half a million troops in the disputed region.