Erdogan's Turkey plans to send jihadist mercenaries to Kashmir

Reports have emerged of Turkey's desire of causing unrest in Kashmir by sending its jihadist Syrian National Army (SNA) mercenaries.

While most Muslim countries look up to Saudi Arabia for order, Turkey is one of the few who dares to challenge its authority. 

"After their operations in Libya, Azerbaijan, Artsakh, Yemen and South Kurdistan, SNA mercenaries on the Pakistani side are now to be sent to Kashmir to fight against India. While Nagorno-Karabakh was about Pan-Turkist goals, Erdoğan tried pan-Islamism again in Kashmir," a report from ANF News read.

It said SNA is looking for volunteers to carry out the job. Those who would agree would get a reward of USD 2,000.

"According to ANF research, the commander of the SNA militia "Sulayman Shah Brigades", Muhammed Abu Amsha, announced five days ago to members of his militia in the occupied city of Şiyê near Afrin that the Turkish state wanted to relocate some units to Kashmir," the report read.

"He explained that Turkish officers had asked him and other SNA commanders to list names of volunteers. Those who would agree to go would get $2,000 initially. Sources report that there was similar recruitment activity for a Kashmiri operation in Azaz, Jarablus, Bab and Idlib. The volunteers would then be secretly taken out of the country," it added.

Unsurprisingly, Turkey has found an ally in Pakistan.

While the Imran Khan government regularly indulges in human rights violations, Islamabad cries foul about India's treatment of its own citizens in Kashmir.

It is no secret that Pakistan has been trying to create unrest in India's Kashmir for long, succeeding at times.

"Pakistan is supported in its ambitions in Kashmir by the Ankara-Doha axis. The state news agencies are currently trying to drum up for the war in Kashmir, similar to the one for the Nagorno-Karabakh invasion," the ANF report added.

Pakistan's relation with Turkey has deepened in the recent past.

While Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the  founding father of the Republic of Turkey or modern Turkey, possessed a liberal outlook and managed to keep the nation secular, the present President Erdoğan is hell bent on undoing the good work.

Earlier this year, in July, Erdogan fulfilled the demand of Islamists by turning the iconic Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul - originally founded as a cathedral - into a mosque even as UNESCO, which had bestowed it a World Heritage status, regretted the decision and many across the world, including Turkey's Nobel-winning writer Orhan Pamuk, lamented the action as the nation's farewell to secular ideals.

The Turkish president, who is now widely seen as an authoratarian leader with an Islamist intent, made the announcement after a court annulled the site's museum status.

In 2017, his government ditched Darwin's Theory of Evolution for a lesson on Jihad, prompting criticism from opponents.

Opponents in the country questioned about the significant rise of Imam Hatip religious schools. Erdogan has attended one such schools and has roots in political Islam.

It is for this reason that Pakistan, who too is eager on pan-Islamisation, finds Turkey a reliable ally.

The two countries, along with Qatar, took action against France for the Mohammad cartoons. Pakistan and Turkey, with Malaysia have agreed to set up a channel to fight against the growing Islamophobia in the Western world.

"In February, Turkish Communications Minister Fahrettin Altun said that Pakistan and Turkey are aiming to strengthen economic cooperation by increasing trade to $5 billion by 2023. Altun added that the two countries would work together on several areas, including defense and energy," ANF reported.

Meanwhile, Turkey's Ambassador to New Delhi, Sakir Özkan Torunlar, told India Today TV that "these reports are baseless and false".