Pakistan opp. leader thanks Turkey, China over Kashmir

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

Pakistan's opposition leader thanked Turkish and Chinese leaders on Monday for their weigh behind his country in the current crisis of Jammu and Kashmir.

In separate letters, Shehbaz Sharif, opposition leader in the National Assembly and the president of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group), a major opposition party in Pakistan, addressed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to expressed gratitude for their strong and steadfast support for Pakistan over the disputed region.

"I am writing to thank you on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) for Turkey's strong and steadfast support to Pakistan on the Kashmir issue," Sharif said in his letter posted on his official Twitter account.

He called it a sign of the longstanding reliable and sincere friendship of the brotherly country Turkey.

"Let me assure you that my party and I will continue to resolutely strengthen this bond of brotherhood.

“Your Excellency, I pray for greater prosperity and success for Turkey under Your Excellency's dynamic & visionary leadership," Sharif said.

Mounting tensions between the nuclear-armed Pakistan and India have further flared following the scrapping of the special status of the picturesque Kashmir valley by New Delhi earlier this month.

Kashmiri leaders and citizens fear this step is an attempt by India to change the demography of the Muslim-majority state, where some groups have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

Sharif also thanked to China’s Xi on behalf of his country and party over his support in the Kashmir issue.

"This demonstrate that China is a reliable and sincere partner of Pakistan and as Your Excellency so aptly put it, our two countries are 'iron Brothers'," he wrote.

Sharif and his party will continue to resolutely support the Belt and Road Initiative and its flagship project, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he assured.