The Nuclear and Khilafat Dimensions Of Pakistan-Turkey Relations under Erdogan And Imran Khan
By
Tilak Devasher
Mar 08,
2021
The growing
bilateral relations between Pakistan and Turkey are fairly well documented.
These include an increasing frequency of high-level visits, military exchanges
and exercises, purchase of defence equipment, political support for each
other’s disputes with neighbouring countries and so on. While the uptick in
relations dates from at least the time of Pervez Musharraf, under Imran Khan,
the relationship seems to have been taken to a new level.
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Also
Read: Ideological Nexus
of Turkey and Pakistan — Preachers of Human Rights on Kashmir
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For several
decades, during bilateral visits and talks, both India and Turkey had agreed
that Kashmir was a bilateral issue to be resolved through the Simla Agreement.
Lately, however, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has started talking about UN resolutions
as also raising the Kashmir issue at the UN General Assembly. For example, in
his address to the 74th session of the UNGA in September 2019, Erdogan, apart
from talking about UN resolutions, mischievously called Kashmir a neighbour of
India. On a visit to Pakistan in February 2020, Erdogan said that the Kashmir
issue was as important to Turkey as it was to Pakistan. Recalling the events of
the Turkish War of Independence, Erdogan said, “And now, we feel the same about
Kashmir today. It was Çanakkale yesterday and Kashmir today; there is no
difference between the two.”
Apart from
Turkey’s support for Pakistan’s position on Kashmir at almost every
international fora, two recent reports point to a more ominous dimension of
this relationship.
Changing equations: Pakistan has moved away from the Arab world, miffed
at the attitude of Saudi Arabia and UAE towards the Kashmir issue. AP/PTI
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The first
report is from the Mediterranean-Asian Investigative Journalists titled
‘Turkey-Pakistan: Secret Army of Mercenary Journalists’ that details how
Pakistan and Turkey are creating a joint propaganda team. The key driver of
this effort is Erdogan’s ambitions to claim the leadership of the Muslim world
and the realisation of the grand Ottoman dream. For this, he needs to be
projected globally as the champion of the Ummah.
For its
part, Pakistan has moved away from the Arab world, miffed at the lukewarm
attitude of Saudi Arabia and the UAE towards the Kashmir issue. On the rebound,
it has found favour with Turkey that, as a quid pro quo for Pakistan’s support
in the propaganda effort, is willing to join Pakistan’s tirade against India
and especially Kashmir.
According
to the report, Turkish intelligence agency MIT was working with the ISI and the
ISPR to build up a propaganda network centred on the TRT World and Anadolu
Agency. These two Turkish media outlets have been hiring several Pakistani and
Indian Kashmiri journalists, some of who would be permitted to settle in
Turkey. As part of this effort, on March 14, 2019, Anadolu Agency opened its
bureau in Pakistan for coordinating the movement of media professionals between
both the countries and generating suitable content.
An analysis
of the content generated shows that TRT World published more than 30 negative
stories when India abrogated Articles 370 and 35A related to Jammu and Kashmir.
The give-away was when Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry recommended 14 of them.
Additionally,
in September 2019, Turkey, Pakistan, and Malaysia declared their intention to
set up a new TV channel under the leadership of Turkey. The report quoted a
source working in the Turkish Foreign Ministry confessing that the plan of
creating a new media house by Turkey-Pakistan-Malaysia for tackling
‘Islamophobia’ was actually a propaganda plan to advance the ambitions of
Erdogan to edge out Saudi Arabia as the leader of the Islamic world. Quite
likely, recruitment of Malaysian journalists would soon begin as soon as the
Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
The second
report from MEMRI in January 2021 raises concerns that the Turkey-Pakistan
partnership could escalate into the nuclear realm with Turkey seeking nuclear
weapons technology from Pakistan. Turkey currently has two nuclear
reactors-Tr-1 and Tr-2-run by the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority. According to
a transcript published by MEMRI TV, Erdogan, in 2019, expressed Turkey’s
intention to acquire nuclear weapons, stating: “Some countries have missiles
with nuclear warheads, and not just one or two. I, however, am not supposed to
have missiles with nuclear warheads. I do not accept this.”
In this
context, the 2019 annual report of the German State of Baden-Württemberg noted
that Pakistan and North Korea were making efforts to procure dual use items for
nuclear technology/weapons from Germany that could “be routed to Pakistan and
North Korea through their close ally China besides Turkey.”
Much like
Pakistan, Erdogan has zeroed in on nuclear weapons to enable the rise of Turkey
and the revival of the Ottoman Caliphate. The only Islamic country that could
provide Turkey with nuclear technology is Pakistan that has an established
track record of nuclear smuggling and proliferation.
Three other
elements of the relationship are important. First, the Turkish supply of drones
to Azerbaijan was an important factor in its recent war with Armenia. Pakistan
is buying drones from Turkey that could be deployed on the border with India.
Second, Pakistan and Turkey are considering providing dual nationality to the citizens
of the two countries. Third, in its bid to cosy up to Turkey, Pakistan
blatantly violated the UN rules when it illegally passed confidential
information to Turkey about Turks who had sought refugee status with the UNHCR
in Islamabad. The UNHCR office in Islamabad passed the confidential information
to the Pakistani government, which in turn handed the list over to the Turkish
embassy.
It is clear
that Pak-Turkey relations have been taken to the next level under the
leadership of Erdogan and Imran Khan. For Turkey, taking pot-shots at India is
well worth Pakistan’s support for the ambitions of Erdogan to emerge as the
leader of the Ummah, replacing Saudi Arabia. Getting nuclear technology from
Pakistan would be the icing on the cake. It, however, remains to be seen if an
impoverished Pakistan and Imran Khan on a shaky domestic wicket will have the
heft to stay this dangerous course.
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Tilak
Devasher is Member, National Security Advisory Board
Original
Headline: Strategic interests bind
Pakistan, Turkey
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