Funding India’s ISIS: Erdogan exploits Kashmir to reinforce new alliance

Nahla Abdel Moneim

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to promote himself as the leader of the Muslims in order to achieve his political goals. This has escalated recently with his relationship with Pakistan, as he is using the disputed territory of Kashmir between India and Pakistan as a religious cause to further his own interests.

In the Indian subcontinent, Erdogan is using Islamist groups as arms to achieve these goals, working in agreement with the Pakistani government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan. Zee News reported that the Indian security agencies are concerned about the Turkish president’s support and funding for ISIS elements in India to ignite conflicts in the country for the benefit of Pakistan.

Erdogan supports India’s ISIS

Indian news sites noted a security report containing dangerous information about the growing geopolitical threats posed by Turkey against the Indian subcontinent by means of its financial and logistical support for terrorist groups working for ISIS in Pakistan, as well as its support for rebel political groups in India, seeking to inconvenience the Indian government and recruit Muslim students in New Delhi.

These reports also stated that Erdogan’s son Bilal is responsible for supporting extremist groups in the region, as well as the systematic operations of recruiting Indian students and youth for extremist groups.

The security report issued by the India authorities asserted that the investigations it conducted with some of the ISIS returnees unanimously agreed that Turkey had facilitated their entry into Syria and supported them there. Accordingly, the Indian authorities suspect that these groups are still in contact with the Turkish government, which is working to implement its goals in countries that oppose it.

Erdogan exploits Kashmir politically

In addition to the above, the Indian government is concerned about the escalation of Erdogan’s tone defending Muslims in addressing the peoples of the Indian subcontinent regarding the Kashmir issue, given that terrorist groups are already adopting a similar discourse. For example, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is keen to support his group in the region through his rhetoric about religious conflict in order to cause a dispute between Muslims and Hindus.

In early August, the Indian government rejected the statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry regarding Kashmir that had indicated New Delhi’s revocation of Kashmir’s status as a semi-autonomous region did not lead to any stability in the disputed territory. New Delhi described the Turkish ministry’s statement as unilateral and unfair, asking Ankara not to interfere in its private affairs.

At that time, the Turkish government had made an international offer to mediate between Pakistan and India over the issue of Kashmir, but the Indian government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, completely rejected the proposal, saying that it interfered with its sovereignty.

Meanwhile, the pro-Erdogan Turkish media promoted the presence of governmental and popular support from Pakistan for Ankara’s stance towards Kashmir. On August 27, Pakistani Minister of States and Frontier Regions Affairs Shehryar Afridi visited Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul to express his appreciation for Erdogan’s stance towards Kashmir.

Economic and military alliance

Increasing India’s concerns is Islamabad’s tendency to embrace the Islamist alliance between Turkey, Indonesia, Iran and Malaysia in exchange for withdrawing from the bloc led by Saudi Arabia, which the Pakistani government has already hinted at over the past few weeks, claiming that Riyadh has not made its utmost efforts to defend the causes of Muslims in Kashmir.

Ankara is supporting the emerging alliance with Pakistan by means of modern investment projects. On August 27, Islamabad, via Minister of Kashmir Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur, invited Turkish businessmen to invest in coastal areas in the north. This means increased economic cooperation in other areas, coinciding with the growing military cooperation between the two countries.