Calls for boycotting Turkey and divesting any Indian ties have taken centre stage after the Middle East country expressed its outright pro-Pakistan stance. In addition to #BoycottTurkey doing numbers on social media, ANI also reported of a “Ban Turkey” movement finding its footing across the country.
Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Hakan Fidan’s message of solidarity with Pakistan against India’s Operation Sindoor left little to the imagination, and our warring neighbour boasted about the same on X earlier this month. “FM of Türkiye @HakanFidan called DPM/FM @MIshaqDar50 to express Türkiye’s solidarity with Pakistan against India’s unprovoked aggression violating Pakistan’s sovereignty and killing innocent civilians. He expressed concern over the deteriorating regional security situation. Both leaders agreed to remain in close coordination on the evolving situation,” tweeted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan.
Soon after Pakistan announced Turkey being in its corner, the latter’s Department of Tourism shared official word on how the vast majority of the local population was unaware of the India-Pakistan conflict. “It has no bearing on daily life or the tourism environment here,” Turkish capital Ankara dusted any responsibility off its shoulder. The formal notice went as far as welcoming Indian travellers, stating that there was no reason to postpone or cancel any trips bound for Turkey despite the current situation. “All travel operations continue as planned, and there are no restrictions or safety issues affecting Indian guests,” Ankara’s tourism department added.
An account called BhartiyNiveshak eventually shared the official notice on X alongside the message that Turkey’s pro-Pak stance was already enough of a red flag to repel Indian travellers. Plugging the hashtag Boycott Turkey, the account wrote, “…must understand that vast majority of Turkish people not being aware that Turkey is giving weapons to terrorist Pakistan to attack India is bigger issue and while they don’t know as per you but you certainly know. Terrorism and tourism won’t go together.”