Turkey's Role In Focus After Pakistan's Military Escalation Against India
New Delhi:
Pakistan's massive escalation along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir and the International Border in other states had a Turkish link. 300-400 drones provided by Turkey were used by Pakistan to target both military and civilian areas in India.
The drones were used to carry out multiple intrusions and violations of Indian airspace along the entire western border - from Leh in Ladakh to Sir Creek in Gujarat - at 36 locations, the government said at a special press briefing on Operation Sindoor.
Of the nearly 400 drones sent by Pakistan, "the Indian armed forces brought down a number of these drones using kinetic and non-kinetic means," the government said, adding that the drone debris is being investigated by forensic experts.
Initial forensic evidence of the drone debris suggests that these were 'Asis Guard Songar' drones of Turkey, the government noted.
Turkey, which has neither condemned the terror attack on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, nor sent its condolences to the families of Indian tourists killed by Pakistan-linked terrorists, has instead completely backed Pakistan.
Turkey's messaging and actions raises suspicion of its open backing of terrorists and terror motives. Here are a list of Turkish actions that cast a shadow on its intentions:
Turkey has, for long, supported Pakistan morally, economically, and militarily. It has been a strong supporter of Pakistan's communal narrative of the Two-Nation Theory, as well as Islamabad and Rawalpindi's narrative of Kashmir. Hours after the Pahalgam terror attack, which was carried out by The Resistance Front, a shadow arm of the UN-banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif - the only global leader to meet the Pakistani prime minister. After the meeting, Shehbaz Sharif expressed gratitude for Turkey's "unwavering support" over Kashmir.
Immediately after the Pahalgam terror attack, while the world stood in solidarity with India, Turkey reportedly sent a vast amount of military assets to Pakistan to help a worried Islamabad stock up against any action that India planned to take against the "terrorists and their backers".
Six Turkish military aircraft reportedly arrived in Pakistan allegedly with Turkey-made weapons and military equipment - reports of which have been denied by Ankara. Turkey could not deny the presence of its C-130 aircraft military aircraft as it was picked up by global air surveillance systems, but denied that there were any weapons sent. "A cargo plane from Turkiye landed in Pakistan for refuelling," Ankara said in a statement.
Days later, Turkey also sent one of its naval warship - the TCG Bykada (F-512), a corvette - to "brother-nation" Pakistan's Karachi Port in an aggressive military posturing favouring Islamabad over New Delhi. Turkey called it a "routine port call", while Pakistan called it a "goodwill visit".
After India carried out its 'Operation Sindoor', where precision missile strikes targeted terrorist infrastructure and terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Turkey was the only country to side-up with the Pakistani narrative and even express its solidarity with Pakistan. According to a statement from the Turkish presidency, President Erdogan spoke with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, conveying Turkey's solidarity with Pakistan and Ankara's support to Islamabad in handling of the situation after India's Operation Sindoor. Describing India's precision strikes against Pakistani terror camps as "martyrdom of numerous civilians", President Erdogan said, "I pray for Allah's mercy for our brothers who lost their lives in the attacks, and I extend my condolences to the brotherly people and state of Pakistan."
On the intervening night of May 8 and 9, 300-400 Turkish-made drones launched by Pakistan violated the Indian airspace in order to "possibly to test India's air defence systems, to gather intelligence," India said at the press conference today. "These provocative and escalatory actions taken by Pakistan last night were targeted at Indian cities, civilian infrastructure, as well as some military targets," Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.
Last year, Pakistan's official purchase of Turkish arms and ammunition stood at $5.16 million. However in the last few years, Turkey has become Pakistan's crucial defence partner. Besides the Asis Guard Songar drones mentioned today, Turkey has been providing Pakistan with its Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci drones for enhanced surveillance. Ankara is also providing Islamabad with advanced naval assets - four MILGEM-class corvettes, two of which - PNS Khyber and PNS Babur, were built in Istanbul and have been delivered, and two which are currently being built at the Karachi Shipyard - PNS Tariq and PNS Badr.
The growing alliance between Turkey and Pakistan, especially over incidents of terrorism and Islamabad's Kashmir narrative, is being watched closely by India.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
an hour ago
- Mint
Shashi Tharoor-led delegation ends US visit a powerful message – ‘world knows the truth now'
The multi-party parliamentary delegation led by Congress leader Shashit Tharoor wrapped up its visit to the US after meeting with Vice President J D Vance and Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau among political and diplomatic leaders, to drive home India's strong resolve to combat terrorism emanating from Pakistan. The delegation was on the last leg of a multi-nation tour to brief key interlocutors about Operation Sindoor that India launched in retaliation to the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The delegation was one of the seven multi-party delegations India had tasked to visit 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community to emphasise Pakistan's links to terrorism. 'If you are born a hundred times, you will do it a hundred times; I will love my country with all my heart; We did whatever we could for the motherland, the whole world knows the truth now," Tharoor wrote on X in Hindi The group arrived in the US capital on June 3 and over the course of three days held a wide array of meetings on Capitol Hill as well as in Washington, briefing American government officials as well as lawmakers about India's stance on cross-border terrorism. The Indian team met Vice President Vance, Landau, House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) leadership, India Caucus leadership and Senate Foreign Relations Committee leaders. It also held meetings and interactions with a host of US Congressmen, think tanks, policy experts, media as well as members of the Indian-American community. Tharoor described the meeting with Vance at the White House for about 25 minutes on Thursday as 'an excellent meeting,' and said the vice president was 'warm and welcoming and receptive.' 'Vance expressed complete understanding, first of all, outrage of what happened in Pahalgam and support and respect for India's restrained response in Operation Sindoor,' Tharoor told PTI after that meeting. The Indian Embassy said in a statement that during the meeting with Landau, the delegation briefed him on the heinous terrorist attack in Pahalgam, discussed India's subsequent Operation Sindoor, and put forth India's firm resolve to counter cross-border terrorism in all its forms. On the last day of the delegation's scheduled meetings, the delegation paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at his statue opposite the Indian Embassy here. 'It is striking how many world capitals are adorned with statues or busts of the Mahatma, the 20th century's greatest apostle of peace, nonviolence, and human freedom,' Tharoor posted on X afterwards. The team, which had arrived from India in New York on May 24, had travelled to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and Brazil before arriving in Washington for the last leg of the tour. The other members of the delegation were Sarfaraz Ahmad (JMM), Ganti Harish Madhur Balayogi (TDP), Shashank Mani Tripathi (BJP), Bhubaneswar Kalita (BJP), Milind Deora (Shiv Sena), Tejasvi Surya (BJP) and India's former Ambassador to the US Taranjit Sandhu. Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after the Pahalgam terror attack, with India carrying out precision strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7. If you are born a hundred times, you will do it a hundred times; I will love my country with all my heart. The on-ground hostilities from Indian and Pakistan sides that lasted for four days ended with an understanding of stopping the military actions following talks between the directors general of military operations of both sides on May 10.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
General Electric Eager to Power India's 5th Gen Fighter Jet
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Popular in Epaper US' General Electric (GE) will vie for the contract to make engines for the Indian Air Force 's fifth-generation stealth fighter or advanced medium combat aircraft , chairman and chief executive Larry Culp told ET in an said the aerospace major considers India a strategically important market for both the civil and defence aerospace businesses.'We are very interested,' he said. 'If you look at what we're doing with the Tejas with our 404 engines, we are right in the middle of probably what matters most in that regard. The US and India enjoy a very strong relationship. So we are here, we want to be supportive and are engaged so we possibly can be.'Last month, India announced a long-awaited plan to fast-track the development of an indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter. The announcement came days after Operation Sindoor against of the most critical components—a high-thrust engine—will likely be developed through a joint venture with a foreign manufacturer. GE will face competition on this from rivals such as Safran and is also stepping up the delivery of jet engines to plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) for the Tejas Mark-1A fighter, which has been much delayed. In March, GE delivered the first of 99 F-404 engines, around two years behind schedule.'That is our intent and we've communicated that to everyone,' Culp said. 'We are working with the suppliers to ramp their capability. We're making good progress. I just look at April and May of this year compared to where we were in the first quarter—we've seen a double-digit increase in the number of receipts.'IAF chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh recently voiced concerns about delays in the procurement of critical military military programmes and commercial airline sales are increasingly being delayed due to the inability of manufacturers to ramp up production. Culp said that though multiple actions are being taken to lessen the impact, it will be a while before the problem is solved.'We are making a tremendous amount of progress not only in GE but across the industry,' he said. 'But when you look at the demand expectations that only increase every year, we're going to be talking about supply chain for a while. That's just the nature of the challenge where we are in a super cycle.'GE will also look to set up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for civilian aircraft engines in India once the volume increases. 'I think that's more a matter of when, as opposed to if,' he said. 'We want to make sure we have the underlying volume in the marketplace that would support those investments.'GE has more than 1,400 engines operating in India, powering both narrow and wide body aircraft and an order book for around 2,500 more. 'The number is sufficient to say that India is a priority country for us,' Culp you look at what we're doing with the Tejas with 404 engines, we are right in the middle of probably what matters most... The US and India enjoy a very strong relationship. So we are here, we want to be supportive.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
1st time since Independence, Aizawl will be in Indian rly map: Vanlalruati
1 2 3 4 Aizawl: The state capital is set to join the national railway map with the Bairabi-Sairang rail line being operational by June or July due to the concerted efforts made by the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP's state executive member and vice-president of the party's Aizawl district K Vanlalruati said on Sunday. Vanlalruati informed TOI, "Progress accelerated after the NDA govt came to power in 2014 with Mizoram being first linked to the broad gauge network at Bairabi in 2016. Now, for the first time since Independence, Aizawl city will be in the Indian railway map." Operation of the railway service will mark a historic step for regional connectivity and the Sairang Railway Station is being modernised under the Amrit Bharat Scheme, she said. Underscoring the importance of road communication in the state, she said key projects like the Aizawl-Tuipang Highway and Seling-Champhai Corridor have been completed under the Modi govt and have improved links to Myanmar, Bangladesh as well as neighbouring states such as Assam, Tripura and Manipur, boosting trade and mobility. BJP state unit has been launching an awareness programme on '11 Years Of Modi Govt' across the state to educate the common people on the benefits of the numerous central govt's flagship programmes and schemes, she said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 Top Trending local enterprise accounting software [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo "Connectivity has improved significantly under Modi's govt, with over 1,000km of national highways developed, including 620km completed by the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). In the last four years, NHIDCL has executed works worth over Rs 13,000 crore across these 620km and Rs 6,400 crore has been sanctioned for future NHIDCL projects, which are scheduled to commence soon," Vanlalruati said. In housing, over 48,000 homes have been built under PM Awas Yojana with Aibawk town becoming India's first completed urban cluster, and Aizawl is seeing Rs 513 crore worth of development under the Smart Cities Mission, she said, adding that over 1.24 lakh households have received tap water connections under Jal Jeevan Mission in Mizoram.
