Intelligence report: Turkey hub of anti-India operations

Tribune News Service of India


New Delhi, Jan. 30, 2022

Turkey is the new Dubai as far as influence operations against Kashmir
are concerned, concur security officials here who are now detecting
attempts to expand its ambit to cover the Indian mainland Muslims as
well as raise doubts about India’s foreign policy.

Two intelligence reports late last year had flagged the emergence of
Turkey as the hub of anti-India activities pushed by Pakistan’s ISI
after its earlier stomping grounds of the UAE and Saudi Arabia became
out of bounds as these countries intensified ties with Delhi to the
extent of storing their strategic reserves in India.

The expansion of Turkey’s foreign policy footprint tallies with
Ankara’s attempt to influence Muslims beyond the Arab heartland.
Despite a failed attempt to form a grouping with Pakistan and
Malaysia, ties with ISI turned warmer and have gone beyond Kashmir to
backing Islamist organisations in India.

The report to NSC Secretariat speaks of three-pronged efforts by the
Turkish government and related institutions — by media (employment to
Kashmiri journalists); educational institutes (well-paying
scholarships) and NGOs (influence Indian Muslims on foreign policy
inimical to Indian interests).