Turkey-Pakistan Nexus On Kashmir Must Be Matched By Indian Cooperation With The Kurds
Dated : 30 Dec 2020 (IST)
Pakistan since its creation in 1947 has been a very thick friend of Turkey. Pakistan was one of the first countries to support Turkey in the foundation of an alternate grouping to the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC).
The two countries have been working in tandem to overtly and covertly take on India, reflected by the recent blabbering of President Erdogan on Kashmir as well as the increasing anti-India activities in Turkey.
Turkey Erdogan likes to project himself as the ‘Caliph’ of the Muslim Ummah by championing the cause of Islamic nations. In this it wants to replace Saudi Arabia as the leader of the Muslim world.
It’s main aim is to somehow lay its hand on Nuclear weapons. In this it knows that Pakistan can help it out both overtly and covertly, so no wonder about this nexus.
Turkey has become the breeding ground for anti-India activities. A new Turkey-Pakistan nexus has emerged in the recent past, leading to a complex network of academia, media, and NGOs working to propagate anti-India propaganda.
Turkey has become a safe haven for anti-India elements to work on Pakistan’s behest as well as the converging point for anti-India terrorists and Pakistani terror supporting agencies.
The Turkish media has become highly critical of the Indian government. Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) and Anadolu Agency have been at the forefront, leading the anti-India narrative.
The two news organisations have come up with a barrage of news reports on issues like so-called atrocities on Kashmiris and Muslims and CAA-NRC. Besides broadcast news and news agencies, the Turkish print media is equally indulged in similar activities.
Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak on 26″ December 2019 published an article titled ‘Gujarat Killer’, attacking PM Narendra Modi and terming CAA as anti-Muslim legislation.
Popular Turkish serials like Ertugrul and Baba are circulated widely in the Kashmir Valley, provoking the Kashmiris to wage a war against India for freedom. These serials depict the victory of a small 2000 strong Turkish tribe against the invaders.
Transcending the Kashmir Valley, videos of these serials have reached inside the digital gadgets across India, further provoking pro-Muslim sentiments to fight India.
“A journalist from Jammu and Kashmir, now working in Anadolu Agency, earlier worked with many Indian news organisations and closely connected to Pakistani agencies, working at their directions and is actively indulged in anti-India activities in Turkey. He is in contact with Pakistani ISI and planning to launch a website dedicated to anti- India content to further the narratives of ‘saffronisation’ and ‘fascism’ by India.ISI is directly funding the website, which is in the final stage of launching. Observers from the Western countries are the target audience of the website. However, they plan to build a network in India as well. The website might contain a range of content including blogs, infographics, reviews, research papers, primary resources, etc. Based on the modus operandi of similar platforms, the website might be launched as a part of any Turkey-based organisation – to add legitimacy to it.” Said a source aware of this development.
Similarly, Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s grand-daughter Ruwa Shah hosts a weekly talk show in English titled ‘The Ruwa Shah Show’ on TRT. The show is promoting the anti-India stance on Kashmir. In like of the above, Ahmed Bin Qasim, son of Muhammad Qasim Faktoo and Dukhteran-e-Millat leader Asiya Andrabi is one of the key contributors to the TRT with an anti-India stance.
” It has also been found that journalists from Turkish media organisations have been able to visit India under the veil of tourist visa to carry out reporting/information gathering from India. India based of these media organisations has been facilitating their visas for India under tourist visa category. Several Pakistani media platforms are also working under the guise of being sub-sets of Turkish media organisations. There are credible pieces of evidence to establish the fact that Pakistani agencies are actively launching several platforms dedicated to producing anti-India content as affiliates/parts of Turkish media organisations/NGOs.” Said a senior security officer.
Indian security agencies are not ruling out the involvement of the Turkish Embassy in New Delhi and consulates in Hyderabad and Mumbai. Turkish Embassy also maintains a close connection with the students returning to India after the conclusion of their studies in Turkey and engages them in its activities.
The returned students also act as facilitators for the scholarship programmes as propagators of pro-Turkish agenda. Indian institutions like Jamia Millia Islamia, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Maulana Azad National Urdu University run courses in Turkish language and have become centres of activities of the Turkish Embassy.
The most important fact is to note that the students under Turkish scholarship programmes are made to engage in the anti-India campaigns. It has been discovered that a couple of Kashmiri students associated with Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University (IZU), under the scholarship of Pakistan government-sponsored organisation Institute of Dialogue, Development, & Diplomatic Studies (IDDS), have been participating in such campaigns. Many of these students have earlier worked for leading media houses in India. Besides Islamic and Kashmiri outfits, the Turkish Embassy has also been forging alliances with Indian NGOs to further its agenda.
Indian ‘activists’ carrying out anti-India agenda are increasingly being sponsored and invited to Turkey. The meetings of these organisations with Turkish diplomats and leaders have been facilitated by Pakistani proxies at multiple instances.
A number of these Turkey-based NGO’s have also collaborated with and provided space to anti-India voices in the Indian academia and civil society. It is noteworthy that there is a significant Pakistani influence on some of these organisations and the others are run directly by Pakistani proxies.
The TDF is a part of the religious directorate of Turkey, now deployed with Erdogan supporters, has been tasked to build Erdogan’s image as the tallest and disputed leader of the Muslim Ummah by championing the Islamic cause. The Diyanet has succeeded to made inroads amongst the Indian Muslims, seeking their support as well as provoking them to take on the Indian nation-state.
Besides these coverts designs, Turkey has also resorted to few open and brazen anti-India moves. To magnify and converge the strength of anti-India elements, Turkey has been pro-actively issuing citizenship to Indian Kashmiris engaged in promoting pro-Pakistan narrative.
The list of such individuals includes Baba Umar, Riaz-ul-Khaliq, Tasheen Nazar, besides others. Most of such individuals have been employed by either of the three sectors: Turkish state media, non-profit organisations, and educational institutions.
So now India should remain passive no more. All visas being issued to any Turkish national must be done only after thorough background security check. Any kind of funding / remittances coming fro Turkey must be checked in minutest of details.
Also India must step up its cooperation with the Kurds. Various types of atrocities being committed against the Kurds by government of Turkey and the Turkish Army must be highlighted by India in all the international forums.
We need to remember the Kurds have basically very close DNA relationship with Indians. This is a proven fact.
