New Delhi: Taking his anti-India stance on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) a bit more, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is increasing his efforts to influence the issue.
Many Turkey-based Islamist charities and Turkish NGOs have launched a blitzkrieg in Jammu and Kashmir, especially after the repeal of Article 370. Their activities intensified in the Union Territory during Ramadan.
“One of the most prominent and powerful Turkish-based NGOs, which has a global presence and most of its units are located abroad, was found to be engaged in anti-India activities. During the last Ramadan, the organization distributed food and money in the form of zakat at J&K. He also organized a charity program on Eid. The organization’s unit in Germany also performed charity work for Kashmir and extended its support to separatist elements, ”said a senior official deployed to the central security establishment.
Observers for Islamist charities believe the NGO has been promoted by Turkey’s Religious Directorate, Diyanet, an organization that aggressively promotes Erdogan’s religious agenda. The organization is also a member of the Islamic World NGO Union – IDSB.
The IDSB is an umbrella organization of Islamist NGOs controlled by Diyanet and has been tasked with promoting Erdogan’s geopolitical agenda. The IDSB also issued a statement criticizing India’s decision to repeal Article 370, calling it a “threat to world peace and stability.” It has also attracted various Indian Islamic NGOs, thus working to subvert and converge entities to promote Erdogan’s interests in India, along with the world.
Another important group with a significant presence in J&K and other parts of India is the Hayder Foundation. The organization has conducted charity work in Kashmir and intensified its activities after August 5, 2019. It organizes ‘Yesevi Supper’, based on the Turkish name of the organization, throughout India. A couple of locals have confessed that the organization is promoting political Islam in the region and gaining support for Erdogan.
In addition to major organizations, Turkish entities are also registering their presence in the Kashmir valley in mouths and bits. Through minor but innumerable activities, Turkish organizations are gradually working to spread throughout J&K. For example, Dora Kubra Yildiz, a prominent member of Erdogan’s party and head of the office of the Turkish NGO ‘One Packet of Happiness’, claimed to organize a handpump charity in Kashmir in July 2020.
In addition to their activities at J&K, Turkish NGOs are also subverting Indian students studying in Turkey on the subject of J&K through events and organizational memberships. They especially target Kashmiri students and invite them as participants and speakers at organized events on the Kashmir issue. To date, more than a dozen anti-India events have been organized in Turkey after the repeal of Article 370, with the collaboration of Pakistani groups based in Turkey. Several ISI representatives are attending the event along with diplomats from the Pakistani missions, including Pakistan’s own ambassador to Turkey.
Apparently, the biggest damage that is being done to India is by two Turkish organizations controlled by Erdogan’s party and his son Bilal Erdogan. These organizations are: YTB (Turks Abroad and Related Communities) and TUGVA (Turkey Youth Foundation). These two organizations select Indian students to provide scholarships to study in Turkey and help them enter and settle.
“Once the students arrive in Turkey, they partner with these two organizations and most of them end up as active cadres. Since recent years, the number of Kashmiri students receiving scholarships from these organizations has increased significantly. Also, when these students return to India, they act as ambassadors for Erdogan’s party and further contribute to the selection process for scholarships, in addition to other things. The Turkish Embassy in India ensures to maintain permanent contact with these students, “a source familiar with the events told Zee News.
The role of the Turkish missions in India also needs to be highlighted. Turkish missions have been able to build a strong base of support in Islamic institutes and those that teach Turkish language courses such as Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Urdu Maulana Azad National University, among many others.
Several student leaders argue that Turkey has also been able to make inroads into student politics in India, the Islamic Student Organization, one of the strongest student groups in India, has a strong foundation in states like Uttar Pradesh, Telangana , New Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.
The Islamic Students Circle (ISC), a subset of SIO, is believed to operate under Turkish influence. He reportedly believes in Erdogan’s idea of political Islam and has an undeclared mission to promote Erdogan as the highest leader of the Muslim Ummah in all of India and as the Messiah of Kashmir in J&K.
Turkey has also transcended the Line of Control (LoC) in an attempt to exert its influence in Jammu and Kashmir. The only difference is that the efforts made on the other side of the LoC are open in nature. In addition to expanding his political Islam in PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), he has also brought his business interests to these areas. Turkish companies have already established their projects in PoK and GB, which are making profits by exploiting these resource and mineral rich areas. Turkish aid agencies are running various projects in these two territories.
Recently, a senior official from the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), Gokhan Umut, visited PoK and GB and met with Ali Amin Gandapur, Pakistan’s Minister of Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs. The two reportedly exchanged ideas on ways to increase Turkey’s stake, as well as its investments in PoK and GB.
Gandapur also invited Umut to invest in GB, which already opposes entry by companies and CPEC and alleges that project stakeholders violate the human rights of locals, change ethnic demographics, and degrade the environment. Turkey has also been sending its media staff from Anadolu Agency and TRT to send pro-Pakistan and India-India and GB reports.
Turkey, through its covert operations at J&K and open activities in PoK and GB, has ensured a total degradation of Jammu and Kashmir. Turkish activities are destroying every USP that Jammu and Kashmir has, from scenic beauty and natural resources to multi-ethnic demographics and Sufi culture. Turkey is destroying everything.
The turmoil from the Turkish organizations at J&K is not only creating instability in the region, but also posing a major threat to India’s national security. These organizations are also believed to indulge in money laundering, violating the FRCA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act).
These organizations are also believed to indulge in terrorist financing in Kashmir through charities, zakat and unaccounted for foreign money. Furthermore, they have also been successful in promoting radical Islam throughout the nation, especially in sections with a Muslim majority.
The radicalization of these teams has also begun to bear fruit, as they are believed to be the real forces behind multiple trivial incidents of violence. Therefore, it is necessary for Indian law enforcement agencies to trace the ties of these Islamist charities and launch an offensive to ensure stability in J&K and the national security of India.
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