Turkey’s Tryst with Terror: Is tourism funding terrorism?

During the recent Pahalgam terror attack, 26 tourists holidaying in Kashmir were systematically identified as being non-Muslim and brutally murdered. The terrorists carrying out the attack did so with the instigation, support and backing of Pakistan. The attacks and their aftermath have resulted in a number of countries revealing their true colours.

One such country has been Turkey (Türkiye). Turkey has, on occasion, voiced sympathy with India for some terror attacks on Indian soil, such as the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. But actions speak louder than words. This time, Turkish President Erdogan has openly offered unconditional and unwavering brotherly support to Pakistan despite indisputable proof of Pakistan’s involvement in the terror attack – irrespective of the risk of friction with India.

This support did not stop at simply moral or verbal support. Turkey supplied over 250 drones to Pakistan to enable them to continue to wage war and terror on India in the aftermath of the brutal terrorist attacks. Not only did Turkey supply drones, but also other ammunition and military operatives with them. In fact, at least two Turkish citizens are said to have been killed in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attacks. Turkey also sent one of their Naval warships to Karachi Port. What is alarming is that Turkey is oftentimes seen as a liberal, open-minded and bargain holiday destination by many tourists all over the world, with sun, sea, sand and luxury hotels available at prices that are sometimes more competitive than its other Mediterranean neighbours.

Turkey’s active support of Pakistan’s terror campaign and its active undermining of India’s right to defend itself and reduce the risk of future attacks – has been ringing alarm bells throughout the world, with holidays, business contracts and trade agreements being cancelled right, left and centre. India’s stance has been clear: that direct perpetration of terrorism, as well as the aiding, abetting or any kind of support for such activities or undermining of India’s right to defend itself and prevent future attacks, is non-negotiable. In other words, carrying out a terrorist attack, or supporting a country that does so – is one and the same.

People are starting to question whether it is worth directly or indirectly risking their lives as well as that of others, holidaying in a country that either dabbles in world terror or lets countries get away with the consequences of sponsoring such terror. Moreover, would anyone with a moral compass willingly give their money to a country that they know willingly funnels it to aid, abet and be entirely complicit in supporting countries in their terror-related activities?

The historical and ideological reasons behind Turkey’s support for Pakistan require an entirely separate article. The paradox of the matter, though, is that there are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan. In any case, were there any other warning signs of Turkey taking such an active and practical role in backing Pakistan? Let’s rewind almost a year back. In July 2024, Turkey imposed a total and comprehensive export ban on India for arms and defence goods, in support of Pakistan. India’s response was mild to say the least, given the fact that many Indian airports, up until May 2025, have been managed by Turkish companies – clearly a major security risk when the parent country actively supports a country with a track record and clear pattern of engineering terror attacks on Indian soil. The economic relations between India and Turkey are significant, and India is only now starting to take practical steps to reconsider these ties, as well as ties with Azerbaijan, which has also been supportive of Pakistan.

Pakistan and Turkey the nexus of terrorism

But was this the only warning shot?

Pahalgam is not the only time that Turkey has interfered in matters relating to Kashmir. Turkey took it upon itself to be judge and jury in 2019 amidst India’s decision to revoke Article 370 – the bill which had hitherto given Kashmir special status but in doing so, posed a hindrance to its integration with the rest of India on a number of matters and prevented the economic stability that has subsequently been fostered in the region up until the Pahalgam attack. Raising concerns that the revocation of Article 370 would heighten tensions in the region, Turkey went on to criticise India further on the matter at the United Nations to the extent of supporting a plebiscite in the region – this too knowing that the now-minority, indigenous population of Kashmiri Hindus who had lived in the region for millennia, had been subject to genocides and expulsion from the region in an attempt to erase Kashmir’s indigenous native past, cultural and spiritual roots and manufacture a new coloniser-settler narrative.

Turkey has also been vocal about minority rights in the rest of India, turning a blind eye to the fact that the Muslim population of India has flourished and risen, while the Hindu population of Pakistan continues to face a very real existential threat and is indeed declining in proportion in India with a number of legal and constitutional measures in place in India that actually significantly disadvantage the Hindu community compared to other communities (for example, the selective taxation and state control of Hindu temples). Turkey even went as far as to express concerns over India’s Citizenship Amendment Act that sought to protect the ever-dwindling, persecuted minorities in its neighbouring countries.

In fact, it is thought that Turkey may have been complicit in sponsoring anti-CAA protests as well as funding religious seminars and radical Islamist preachers in India with the intention of stirring hatred and trouble. In terms of other recent issues in India, Turkish media has also been sympathetic to protests against farm law reforms in India, and Erdogan also went as far as to comment negatively about India in light of the Delhi riots in 2020.

Unfortunately, this helps spread hatred against India and even Hindus among the lay masses who know no better and are not acquainted with facts and geopolitical nuances.

How about before 2020? Well, it’s a long story, but let’s rewind to 1971 and the Indo-Pakistan war that led to the birth of Bangladesh but – also the violent genocide of up to 3 million predominantly Hindu Bengalis and many others who who identified as culturally Bengally, and systematised rapes of hundreds of thousands of predominantly Hindu or culturally Bengali women – carried out by the Pakistani army and Razakars. Turkey provided diplomatic assistance and support to Pakistan, even then, as well as during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. These are not comprehensive instances of Turkey taking an anti-India stance; there may be a lot more if we scratch below the surface.

While, especially in recent years, it is clear that Turkey has consistently interfered in Indian matters, it has failed to introspect upon the numerous gross human rights violations and issues in its own vicinity – again, the subject of an entirely separate article. Interestingly, even Turkish think-tanks have started to target India, for example, by posting altered maps of India with chunks of Indian land being shown to belong to Bangladesh with clearly Hindumisic undertones and overtones that glorify the conquest of Hindus and conversion of the Indian landscape at large. The civil unrest and devastation of lives if such a conquest was actually carried out is unimaginable, and it is irresponsible and a matter of concern that such hatred against India is being allowed to flourish.

In the race to build allies, raise its profile and prove its worth in the Muslim world, Turkey has lost the plot. While countries in the Middle East and elsewhere are actively denouncing terror and building respectful and healthy relations with India and the rest of the world, Turkey is playing a double-faced game of courting tourists with a liberal façade, all the while providing patronage to terror-sponsoring nations and religious radicals.

The outcome is clear to see. People are waking up to the reality of what Turkey is – a country complicit in the support of terrorism – using money from tourism and trade to cause bloodshed and violence against innocent people by arming terror-sponsoring nations and undermining countries that have been the victim of such terror when they try to defend themselves and prevent future attacks. Turkey is not the only country with blood on its hands; by giving patronage to countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh – where minorities are tortured and persecuted in broad daylight, one can argue that one is catalysing the extinction of minorities by financing the perpetrating authorities rather than holding them to account for what they are allowing to happen under their noses.

It beggars the question – if terrorists can go as far as to check if potential victims are circumcised or know specific religious prayers in order to select who to slaughter (as they did in Pahalgam), surely the least we can do is to exercise a bit of discretion about the choices we make with our money and where our money ends up, even if it means spending a bit more.

References

Related Posts