- By Ajeet Kumar
- Wed, 14 May 2025 06:17 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Turkey, which has been backing Pakistan against India in the Operation Sindoor with its drones, a media report claimed it also sent military operatives to Islamabad. According to a report by India Today, at least two Turkish military operatives died in Operation Sindoor, exposing Turkey's deep support for Pakistan. As per the report, Turkey sent more than 350 drones to Islamabad. This aligns with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Tuesday statement, where he called Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif his "precious brother," signalling strong backing.
Pakistan uses Turkish drones
Notably, theIndian Military on Friday said Pakistan used Turkish drones in attacks on military installations near 36 urban population centres across Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Punjab. During a special joint press briefing of the Ministry of External Affairs, the India Army and Air Force, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi said Pakistan sent 300-400 drones in 36 locations from Leh to Sir Creek last night to target military installations.
Addressing a press briefing on Friday, theColonel said that the initial investigations suggest the drones were Turkish-made Asisguard Songar models. Colonel Qureshi said during the press briefing, "On the night of May 7 and 8, the Pakistani army violated Indian airspace several times over the entire western border to target military infrastructure. Not only this, the Pakistani army also fired heavy-calibre weapons along the Line of Control. Around 300 to 400 drones were used to attempt infiltration at 36 locations."
Boycott Turkey trends
Amid tensions with Pakistan, various online booking platforms on Friday announced suspension of new travel offerings to countries, including Turkey and Azerbaijan for their "support" to Pakistan and advised customers to avoid "non-essential" travel to these destinations, while urging Indians to exercise "utmost caution" before planning trips to sensitive regions.
Similar concerns were raised by the Indian online travel booking platforms when three Maldivian ministers criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Lakshadweep. That time too, Indian travellers cancelled their trips to Male following a massive social media trend, "Boycott Maldives". This forced the Maldivian government to distance itself from the bizarre remarks and subsequently dismissed the trio.
EaseMyTrip Co-Founder Prashant Pitti on Wednesday said the national interest comes first and the business interest later, echoing the call for boycotting Turkey and Azerbaijan, after these countries openly supported Pakistan during the recent conflict with India.
"As a company, EaseMyTrip, we always think of the nation first and business later," Prashant Pitti told news agency ANI in an interview. Even in early 2024, EaseMyTrip had cancelled bookings for the Maldives. India's relations with the archipelago soured following some derogatory remarks by Maldivian officials against India and its leadership. "We took a national stand and for nine months we did not work with Maldives, only when our External Affairs Minister visited Maldives, we allowed Maldives bookings to restart," Pitti said.
"Similarly, in the events which are happening right now where there is an ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan, even though there is a ceasefire, the ceasefire is also getting violated. We are seeing countries like Azerbaijan and Turkey standing on the wrong side of history. Pakistan is clearly caught at the funeral of UN-designated terrorists," he added.
(With inputs from agency)
