Turkey-Pakistan Alliance: Erdogan's ''Secret'' Strategy and Its Implications for India

International News: Turkey is one of the countries from which Pakistan has received open support in the recent conflict with India. The way Turkey gave drones and weapons to Pakistan shows that the relations between the two countries have improved a lot. Turkey's support to Pakistan also caught the attention of the world because it did this at the cost of displeasing a big economy like India. Sanjay Bhattacharya, who was India's ambassador to Turkey from 2018 to 2020, has talked about the reason for Turkey standing with Pakistan.

Sanjay Bhattacharya, who is among India's senior diplomats and understands Turkey closely, said in a program called The Gist that the relations between Turkey and Pakistan are not new. These relations are old and based on religion. Bhattacharya said, 'The President of Turkey has raised the issue of Kashmir many times. The Kashmir issue has also been mentioned in the statement of the Turkish Foreign Ministry. Turkey's statement on the removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir was also not positive for India. All this shows Turkey's love for Pakistan.'

Turkey and Pakistan relations

Bhattacharya says, 'Turkey had decided to build relations with Pakistan in the 1950s itself, when both the countries were close allies of the US . Despite this, the Turkish governments of that time tried to maintain a balance in relations with India. The change in Turkey's attitude came after Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power in Turkey. Erdogan promoted Islamic ideology in Turkey but he did not get along well with Arab countries while Pakistan welcomed him. This made Turkey lean towards Pakistan.'

Pakistan-Turkey Nexus: A Challenge for India

Sanjay Bhattacharya believes that Pakistan is a loyal ally in Erdogan's Islamic agenda . Erdogan's domestic agenda has also been to promote Islamic ideology and he gives a lot of importance to the religious aspect even in social services and financial services. This is also visible in his foreign policy. Pakistan calls itself a country built on the foundation of Islam. In such a situation, Erdogan sees a reliable partner in Pakistan.

No Sharia Law in Turkey: Erdogan's Reality Check

Erdogan is promoting the Islamic agenda but Bhattacharya feels that he will not go towards implementing Sharia law in Turkey. Bhattacharya says, 'Turkey is a country with a very developed economy and is politically alert. Erdogan also knows that the people of his country are divided on issues like Sharia law. In such a situation, Erdogan, who is already on the decline of politics, will not take any such decision.