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Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Failed Marshal Asim Munir
Noted Pakistani political scientist, Ayesha Siddiqa, is believed to have said that every time the Pakistani army loses a war, their generals pin on a medal. The recent four-day Indo Pak war can be summed up as this: India bombed terrorist targets in Pakistan, the Pakistani air force engaged the Indian air force, whereupon the Indians bombed numerous Pakistani air bases. Preeminent military aviation analyst and military historian, Tom Cooper of Austria, has surmised, with the help of satellite imagery, that India bombed the entrance to one of Pakistan's nuclear storage sites at the Sargodha Complex in the Kirana Hills, prompting the Pakistani director general of military operations, Major General Kashif Abdullah, to call his Indian counterpart, Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai and ask for a ceasefire. If the Pakistanis were winning, why would the Pakistanis request a ceasefire? In Pakistan, the news was greeted with uninterruptible joy, with sweets distributed, fireworks burst, and long marches. In India, there was a deafening silence, which made ordinary Pakistanis even more convinced about their victory. And then came the stunner. Pakistani army chief, General Asim Munir, had promoted himself to the rank of field marshal—a five-star general for life. Munir was originally scheduled to retire as army chief at the end of this year, but he has extended his term to five years. He will in all probability get another five-year extension. Instead of field marshal, Munir has been dubbed the 'failed marshal.' His missiles and air defence systems performed miserably during the war. No matter, Munir held a grand investiture ceremony for himself, in which he saluted Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, but was careful not to extend the courtesy to Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, who is held in contempt by the military. Now the Indians and the Pakistanis are engaged in their own version of ringa ringa roses—sending high-level delegations all over the world to explain their respective country's point of view. But this is a failed exercise. The world has had enough of Indo-Pakistani shenanigans and does not want to hear their tried and trusted tropes anymore. In particular, the world wants to have nothing to do with the future of Kashmir. They know that India and Pakistan are born enemies and are ready to battle until nuclear Armageddon. That is what concerns them, nothing else. India and Pakistan came to the brink this time. What happens next? Well, in one scenario, the Pakistanis will instigate another terror attack in India. India has promised to respond. That war could escalate beyond control. The other scenario is that India and Pakistan will sit down and talk. For that, Pakistan will have to forswear terror. But it is not willing to do so. Forswearing terror is not enough. Pakistan has done that in the past. Pakistan must dismantle its jihadi infrastructure and hand over the likes of Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar to India. Saeed and Azhar though are seen as celebrities fighting for a noble cause in Pakistan. Pakistan will never hand them over to India. Field Marshal Asim Munir is a hawkish military commander, built along the lines of Zia-ul-Haq. He sees warfare with India through the prism of religion. He is willing to destroy Pakistan, but he will not renounce his hatred of India. It's not just that he wants Kashmir; he wants the Crescent to fly over India's Red Fort. India and Pakistan are thus locked in a civilizational conflict. Every few years, there is going to be a damning provocation from Pakistan, over which India will be compelled to react. World powers can pull the two apart only ever so often. Everyone is tired of the Indo-Pak drama. Marshals will come, and marshals will go, but what have the people of India and Pakistan done to deserve this? In this case, Field Marshal Munir intends on staying army chief of Pakistan for another seven and a half years. In his two and a half years as army chief, he has not uttered a single word of peace to India. Nor does he get along with India's leadership. Zia got along famously with Indian prime minister, Morarji Desai; General Pervez Musharraf with Atal Behari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh. It is not even known if Munir has ever spoken to India's leadership. The storm has passed, but the tempest remains. As William Faulkner said, the past is not dead, the past is not even past. Indian and Pakistani people are compelled to relive the horrors of their past, while failed marshals keep pinning medals on their chest. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
The Hindu
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Introspecting counter-terrorism after Operation Sindoor
The Pahalgam terror strike, on April 22, perpetrated by Pakistan proxies, and India's retribution through Operation Sindoor, on May 7, have fundamentally altered the security landscape of the region. While Operation Sindoor represents an undeniable tactical and operational success, its strategic efficacy in diminishing the long-term terrorist threat remains uncertain. At present, the discourses across all the forums in the country, unfortunately centre exclusively on matters of foreign policy and the external application of military force. The aspects concerning internalisation of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) have often been given a miss, thereby missing the wood for the trees. Here, it is crucial to understand that in the overall context, it has always been about winning Kashmir rather than defeating Pakistan. The complex reality of terrorism in J&K It is beyond any doubt that Pakistan bears substantial accountability for the security situation in J&K, since Independence. After exploding in 1989, the security landscape was transformed from predominantly indigenous insurgency to significant participation of foreign terrorists, around the mid-1990s. Notwithstanding the foreign terrorists, a long-term analyses of patterns of terrorism reveal that local dynamics related to identity, marginalisation, repression and political disenfranchisement have played pivotal roles. These factors have given Pakistan the fuel to foment trouble. The interplay between external sponsorship and internal vulnerabilities creates a complex ecosystem of terrorism that defies simplistic military solutions, internally or externally. Since 1989, the security forces have achieved substantial progress in J&K. As in South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) data, overall fatalities have reduced from over 4,000 lives in 2001 to 127 in 2024. This achievement stems from the consolidation of the security grid, the government's outreach to local populations and Pakistan's diminishing capacity to wage a high-intensity proxy war. This positive trajectory suggests that India's multifaceted approach has yielded tangible results, even as significant challenges remain and more needs to be done in the context. Deterring Pakistan Analysing terror-related fatalities in J&K over the last decade shows that kinetic actions such as surgical strikes (2016) and the Balakot aerial strike (2019) have not deterred Pakistan. SATP data show that fatalities went up to 267 in 2016 from 175 in 2015 and continued to rise through 2019. Even after the Kargil victory (1999), terror indices in the region shot up to an all time high. In Operation Sindoor, although our military actions ascended several notches above the surgical strikes or Balakot, these may still not deter Pakistan. The government of Pakistan and the Pakistani people claim that they won the 100 hours war, from May 7 to 10. Pakistan's General Asim Munir has been elevated to the rank of Field Marshal and according to Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistani political scientist, military nationalism has been revived in Pakistan. Deterring Pakistan in the present circumstances seems ambitious. The participation of local terrorists in J&K, at present, is very low in contrast to the Burhan Wani days. Even though foreign terrorists are now technologically savvy and are relatively less dependent on local terrorists, the role played by local terrorists cannot be underestimated. Amid heightened security concerns following the Pahalgam attack, intelligence agencies have identified scores of local terrorists with links to their foreign counterparts. The voids in the security grid in the Jammu region, caused by troops being moved to Galwan, were exploited by terrorist cadres in new groups such as The Resistance Front, the People's Anti-Fascist Front, and the Kashmir Tigers, to name a few. The deteriorating security situation in the Jammu region has been marked by a kill ratio that favours the terrorists. What is worrying is the prevalent degree of local support for the terrorists. Human intelligence, or HUMINT, seems to have dried up, which explains the sustenance of terrorists (this includes the perpetrators of Pahalgam, who continue to be at large). Beyond kinetic operations The bipartisan support of the local population in J&K against the Pahalgam massacre was spontaneous and unprecedented. Such a swell in support presents us with a strategic opportunity that must be consolidated rather than squandered through counterproductive measures such as demolishing the houses of alleged terrorists or mass arrests. While the externalisation of terrorism through high-impact, war-like response is necessary, the caveat here is that it may end up distracting us from the primary goal — terrorism in J&K. Expert commentary following Operation Sindoor suggests a concerning tendency to oversimplify the complex challenge of terrorism in J&K, potentially numbing policymakers to harder questions regarding terrorism and its roots in both external sponsorship and internal grievances. Operation Sindoor has demonstrated India's growing prowess in kinetic non-contact warfare, but this must be complemented by non-kinetic tools to establish a more effective deterrent against Pakistan. Most critical is to contextualise the multidimensional approach to the internal dynamics, where the fundamental principle of 'people as the centre of gravity' is the driving force. Sustained political engagement, economic development and social integration, complemented by security-centric measures, can complete the picture. Deterrence can materialise only through an in-depth approach that is backed by our national resolve. Shashank Ranjan is a retired Indian Army colonel with substantial experience of serving in a counter-terrorism environment. He currently teaches at the O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonepat, Haryana
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Can India and Pakistan find a way to de-escalate?
As the continuing India-Pakistan crisis takes a dangerous turn, nations around the world are urging calm. The initial thinking was that after India launched air strikes, and with Pakistan claiming to have shot down several Indian jets - a claim Delhi has not confirmed - both sides could claim "victory" and de-escalate. But there's a danger that any protracted tit-for-tat attacks could lead them to a far more damaging prospect. During past conflicts, such as in 2019 and 2016, it was the United States and a few other global powers that put pressure on Delhi and Islamabad to bring the situation under control and de-escalate. Now passions are running high and the nationalist rhetoric has reached a crescendo on both sides. The neighbours are closer to war than in recent decades. Kashmir: Why India and Pakistan fight over it What we know about India's strikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir 'The World community is keeping quiet; that's dangerous,' Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistani academic who is a senior fellow at King's College London. 'Though the flare up has been happening for decades, this is the first time the two countries find themselves in a conflict without anyone monitoring them or forcefully telling them to stop,' she said. Unless Washington gets more involved, Islamabad and Delhi may continue with their accusations and counter-accusations. Although US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been telling the senior leaders of India and Pakistan to de-escalate, the message from other American leaders is different. US Vice-President JD Vance has said that a potential war between India and Pakistan would be "none of our business" during an interview with Fox News. "We want this thing to de-escalate as quickly as possible. We can't control these countries, though," Vance said. Vance was on a visit to India when the militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians, took place. US President Donald Trump had earlier called rising tension between India and Pakistan a "shame". During previous India-Pakistan skirmishes, for example in 2019, tension was defused quickly after India carried out what it called 'surgical strikes' on what it called terrorist camps inside Pakistan. One Indian military jet was shot down in the aftermath of the crisis and the pilot was captured by Pakistan. He was released two days later after reported intervention from Washington and other world powers. But the intensity of the current conflict is different and passions are running high on both sides. While the Trump administration's priorities are more about tariffs, China and Ukraine-Russia, it may require a concerted attempt by the international community to lower tension between the two nuclear-armed rivals. The other world power which has a stake in South Asia is China. Beijing has close economic and military ties with Islamabad. It has invested more than $50bn (£37.5bn) in Pakistan as parts of its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to boost trade. China also has unresolved border issues with India and the two countries recently had a border clash in the Himalayan region 2020. Despite the tension, China is the second largest trading partner of India. "If the US is uninterested [in resolving India-Pakistan tension] then other permanent members of the UN Security Council – P5 - should get involved. It is their responsibility as well," Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based international affairs expert tells the BBC. As India accuses Pakistan of supporting the Kashmiri separatist rebels, who carried out the deadly attack on tourists last month, the Chinese academic says "the P-5 members can launch a credible investigation into the incident", to address India's concerns. Gulf states like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to both the countries, could step up their mediation efforts. Saudi Arabian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir arrived in Delhi on 7 May in what was seen as a surprise visit amid the backdrop of a spike in tensions between India and Pakistan. 'A good meeting with Adel Al-Jubeir," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, adding that his counterpart 'shared India's perspective on firmly countering terrorism'. The Saudi minister arrived in Islamabad on Friday for talks with Pakistan's leaders. There are an estimated 2.6 million Pakistanis living and working in the Gulf Kingdom. Riyadh has considerable influence in Pakistan. Saudi Arabia has loaned billions of dollars to Pakistan to bail out the country during economic crises over the years. One way out of the current crisis could be a situation where both sides can claim victory to satisfy their audience. Delhi says the missile strikes on suspected militant hideouts inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir were part of a commitment to hold 'accountable' those responsible for the last month's attack in Pahalgam. 'India has already said it has achieved its objectives. Now, the ball is in Pakistan's court. If they wish to retaliate then that would elicit a strong response from India,' retired Indian Lt Gen D S Hooda said. For Pakistan, especially for its powerful military, it would want to show its people that it can stand up against India and teach it a lesson once again by downing five of the Indian air force jets during a dog fight. India has not acknowledged the loss of any of its fighter jets in the current skirmish. But according to Pakistani academic Siddiqa, how the current crisis ends depends on what India's stated objectives are. 'India's goal posts keep changing day by day – from punishing Pakistan to attaining something more,' she said. Villagers tell BBC they survived shelling in Indian-administered Kashmir 'It felt like the sky turned red', says witness to India strike in Pakistan Indian and Pakistani civilians describe aftermath of strikes and shelling
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Kashmir: What's the way out of the India and Pakistan crisis?
As the continuing India-Pakistan crisis takes a dangerous turn, nations around the world are urging initial thinking was that after India launched air strikes, and with Pakistan claiming to have shot down several Indian jets - a claim Delhi has not confirmed - both sides could claim "victory" and there's a danger that any protracted tit-for-tat attacks could lead them to a far more damaging past conflicts, such as in 2019 and 2016, it was the United States and a few other global powers that put pressure on Delhi and Islamabad to bring the situation under control and de-escalate. Now passions are running high and the nationalist rhetoric has reached a crescendo on both sides. The neighbours are closer to war than in recent Why India and Pakistan fight over itWhat we know about India's strikes on Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir'The World community is keeping quiet; that's dangerous,' Ayesha Siddiqa, a Pakistani academic who is a senior fellow at King's College London. 'Though the flare up has been happening for decades, this is the first time the two countries find themselves in a conflict without anyone monitoring them or forcefully telling them to stop,' she Washington gets more involved, Islamabad and Delhi may continue with their accusations and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been telling the senior leaders of India and Pakistan to de-escalate, the message from other American leaders is Vice-President JD Vance has said that a potential war between India and Pakistan would be "none of our business" during an interview with Fox News."We want this thing to de-escalate as quickly as possible. We can't control these countries, though," Vance was on a visit to India when the militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians, took President Donald Trump had earlier called rising tension between India and Pakistan a "shame". During previous India-Pakistan skirmishes, for example in 2019, tension was defused quickly after India carried out what it called 'surgical strikes' on what it called terrorist camps inside Indian military jet was shot down in the aftermath of the crisis and the pilot was captured by Pakistan. He was released two days later after reported intervention from Washington and other world powers. But the intensity of the current conflict is different and passions are running high on both the Trump administration's priorities are more about tariffs, China and Ukraine-Russia, it may require a concerted attempt by the international community to lower tension between the two nuclear-armed other world power which has a stake in South Asia is China. Beijing has close economic and military ties with Islamabad. It has invested more than $50bn (£37.5bn) in Pakistan as parts of its China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to boost also has unresolved border issues with India and the two countries recently had a border clash in the Himalayan region 2020. Despite the tension, China is the second largest trading partner of India."If the US is uninterested [in resolving India-Pakistan tension] then other permanent members of the UN Security Council – P5 - should get involved. It is their responsibility as well," Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based international affairs expert tells the India accuses Pakistan of supporting the Kashmiri separatist rebels, who carried out the deadly attack on tourists last month, the Chinese academic says "the P-5 members can launch a credible investigation into the incident", to address India's concerns. Gulf states like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to both the countries, could step up their mediation Arabian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir arrived in Delhi on 7 May in what was seen as a surprise visit amid the backdrop of a spike in tensions between India and Pakistan. 'A good meeting with Adel Al-Jubeir," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, adding that his counterpart 'shared India's perspective on firmly countering terrorism'.The Saudi minister arrived in Islamabad on Friday for talks with Pakistan's are an estimated 2.6 million Pakistanis living and working in the Gulf Kingdom. Riyadh has considerable influence in Arabia has loaned billions of dollars to Pakistan to bail out the country during economic crises over the way out of the current crisis could be a situation where both sides can claim victory to satisfy their says the missile strikes on suspected militant hideouts inside Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir were part of a commitment to hold 'accountable' those responsible for the last month's attack in Pahalgam. 'India has already said it has achieved its objectives. Now, the ball is in Pakistan's court. If they wish to retaliate then that would elicit a strong response from India,' retired Indian Lt Gen D S Hooda said. For Pakistan, especially for its powerful military, it would want to show its people that it can stand up against India and teach it a lesson once again by downing five of the Indian air force jets during a dog fight. India has not acknowledged the loss of any of its fighter jets in the current according to Pakistani academic Siddiqa, how the current crisis ends depends on what India's stated objectives are.'India's goal posts keep changing day by day – from punishing Pakistan to attaining something more,' she said. You may also be interested in:
The Print
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Pakistan-Turkey defence ties in spotlight post Pahalgam. How they've grown to be strategic allies
However, Pakistani media outlets have reported that the aircraft carried combat equipment—a claim that remains unverified. The Turkish Defense Ministry has reportedly denied claims that arms or ammunition were delivered, terming the recent landings of Turkish C-130 Hercules aircraft in Karachi as only for refueling purposes. New Delhi: As tensions rise between India and Pakistan in the wake of the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, Islamabad's deepening defence ties with Turkey are drawing renewed scrutiny. Though both Ankara and Islamabad deny any recent arms transfer, several Turkish military aircraft landings in Pakistan have fueled speculation about covert military support. However, while Turkey and Pakistan may be drawing closer diplomatically and strategically, experts advise separating signal from noise when it comes to military movements and geopolitical messaging—especially during volatile moments like these. Defence analyst and Pakistan military expert Ayesha Siddiqa cautioned against overhyping the developments. 'There is nothing which should make you (India) jump up and down,' she told ThePrint. 'Pakistan and Turkey have good security relations. They are already co-developing fighter aircraft. This is not some Muslim world conspiracy against India,' she added. Kabir Taneja, Deputy Director, Strategic Studies and Fellow, Middle East, Observer Research Foundation (ORF) agreed. Still, the optics and timing of these military movements have amplified suspicions. As India weighs its strategic response to the Pahalgam attack, the quiet, expanding alliance between Pakistan and Turkey signals a broader recalibration in South Asia's security dynamics. Taneja stressed that the broader military balance in the region remains unchanged, shaped primarily by nuclear deterrence rather than conventional capabilities. 'Conventionally, of course, India is much more well equipped. But we've seen this sort of layout…as far as military balance is concerned in Asia, that's decided by deterrence of a nuclear kind, not conventional kind,' he added. Also read: Who is backing Pakistan? India must guard against Turkey & China's dirty games A growing axis: Pakistan, Turkey, and beyond Turkey, China, and Azerbaijan have expressed political and military solidarity with Pakistan in the aftermath of the attack, signaling a tightening regional axis in South Asia. Pakistan's list of steadfast allies has grown thin in recent years, with even close partners like China and Saudi Arabia occasionally diverging from Islamabad on key issues. In contrast, Turkey has emerged as the one ally that has maintained a consistently smooth relationship with Pakistan—both diplomatically and strategically. That's why Ankara's growing defense cooperation with Islamabad is being closely watched in New Delhi, especially in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, according to Washington-based South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman. 'Turkey is the quiet partner that never disappoints. Turkey's growing defense ties with Pakistan will be concerning for New Delhi against the backdrop of the current crisis—and especially as Turkey is a rare country that consistently sides with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue,' Kugelman told ThePrint. The Turkish-Pakistani military relationship has matured into a full-spectrum strategic partnership. Joint ventures span air, naval, and cyber domains. Pakistan is now participating in Turkey's fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet programme alongside Azerbaijan, following Ankara's exclusion from the US-led F-35 program. Previously, Turkish Aerospace Industries upgraded 41 of Pakistan's F-16s in a $75 million deal. Turkish firm ASELSAN also supplied advanced targeting pods for Pakistan's JF-17 jets, while HAVELSAN, a Turkish technology company delivered a full-spectrum electronic warfare training range. In the naval domain, Turkish defence firm STM completed a $350 million mid-life upgrade of Pakistan Navy's Agosta 90B submarines, and the $1.5 billion MILGEM-class corvette project saw two ships built in Karachi. Pakistan's drone arsenal has also benefited from Turkish technology. After US export blocks stalled ATAK helicopter deals, Ankara pivoted to UAV cooperation. In 2023, Turkish drone giant Baykar signed an agreement with Pakistan's National Aerospace Science and Technology Park to jointly develop UAVs, following Pakistan's 2022 acquisition of the battle-tested Bayraktar TB-2 drones. Strategic messaging and Cyber operations The growing defence synergy is not limited to military hardware. Turkish and Pakistani forces regularly hold joint drills, including the elite Ataturk-Jinnah special forces exercises and the Anatolian Eagle air combat training. These exercises are aimed at improving interoperability and showcasing alliance strength, according to a report by Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). But cooperation has also extended into the digital realm. A 2022 report by Nordic Monitor alleged that Turkey had helped Pakistan establish a covert cyber army tasked with advancing Islamabad's narrative in Southeast Asia, attacking Indian and US digital platforms, and shielding Pakistani leaders from international criticism. The initiative reportedly began in 2018 with support from Turkish and Pakistani interior ministries under then-Prime Minister Imran Khan, the report said. Turkey's strategic South Asia outreach Turkey's growing strategic footprint in South Asia is part of its broader 'Asia Anew Initiative' launched in 2019. Under this banner, Ankara has not only strengthened ties with Pakistan but also deepened its outreach to Bangladesh. In 2022, Dhaka signed a defence cooperation pact with Turkey, echoing similar moves with China. The Turkish government, for its part, quietly blanket banned arms exports to India in 2024, further underlining its shift toward Islamabad. While officials in Ankara publicly downplay any adversarial posture toward India, their actions suggest a longer-term strategic realignment. While India remains outside this emerging network, experts suggest New Delhi should view these developments as a matter of 'calculation, not concern.' From India's perspective, however, this expanding network should not necessarily be seen as threatening. 'It's not a matter of concern, but of calculation. India should factor it into its strategic planning. With so much happening globally, no one wants to see conflict spiral out of control,' Siddiqa added. She added that Turkey's ambitions in the region aren't limited to Pakistan. 'Under its Asia Anew Initiative, Turkey has been reaching out to other South Asian countries like Bangladesh. So yes, there is potential for more regional cooperation—just not including India.' She, however, dismissed the idea of a military alliance forming against India. 'Turkey's not going to fight a war for Pakistan. It's a strategic partnership that includes business and defence cooperation. That's where it stands,' she said. Taneja agreed. 'Clearly, they have very close bilateral and economic relationships. Turkey has long supported Pakistan's stance on Kashmir, raising the issue at international forums, including the UN General Assembly—moves that have drawn sharp protests from India. So those divisions between Ankara and New Delhi are there,' he said. He also added that while Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the G20 summit in India, there have been few high-level diplomatic exchanges beyond that. Pakistan operates Turkish-made drones and other defense equipment, but beyond that the specifics of any recent military deliveries remain murky. Amid this confusion, experts also caution against overestimating the strategic depth of the Turkey-Pakistan alliance. Economically, the relationship is far from balanced. 'Just Istanbul as a city's economy is as big as Pakistan. So, you know, there's no real comparison other than strategic alignment. Pakistan doesn't have much to offer to Turkey and Turkey knows that as well,' said Taneja. 'Turkey has prioritised deeper economic ties with countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, leaving Pakistan's role mostly confined to symbolic and strategic alignment.' (Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri) Also read: Why's Turkey erupting for Ekrem İmamoğlu? He's the biggest threat to Erdoğan yet
