Turkey’s Shadow Over Delhi Blast Probes: Emerging Clues Point to a Troubling Cross-Border Nexus Despite Ankara’s Denials

A significant new development has surfaced in the probe into the November 10 explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort metro station, where an IED-packed Hyundai i20 detonated in dense evening traffic, claiming close to a dozen lives.

According to Indian media reports, early intelligence assessments now indicate that the attack may have been executed by a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) module seeking retaliation for extensive losses the outfit suffered during India’s Operation Sindoor, which severely damaged its Bahawalpur headquarters.

Investigators believe that the guiding handlers behind the terror cell—comprising several medical professionals—were operating from Turkey and maintained steady communication with the operatives in India.

Reports further reveal that Dr Umar Un Nabi, suspected to be the driver of the vehicle, and his associate, Dr Muzammil Shakeel Ganaie—now in custody—had both travelled to Turkey earlier this year, allegedly to firm up operational plans.

The two doctors, both residents of the same village in Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir, were employed at the same medical institute in Faridabad, which investigators say became a hub for clandestine meetings.

In an unexpected twist, just days before the Delhi blast, the Uttar Pradesh ATS apprehended Farhan Nabi Siddiqui, co-founder of ‘Istanbul International,’ from Greater Noida.

He is alleged to have circulated inflammatory content and to have routed over ₹11 crore in foreign funding through hawala channels. His Turkish associate, Nasi Torba, however, had fled the country.

ATS officials said that it was Torba who first linked Siddiqui to the wider funnel of foreign financiers.

Funds traced from Turkey and Germany were reportedly utilised to purchase land in Amroha and Punjab under the guise of madrasa and mosque projects.

Multiple bank accounts belonging to Siddiqui’s relatives and several retired Army officers of gazetted rank are now being scrutinised for possible involvement in this propaganda-and-funding syndicate.

Police sources say preliminary findings point to a sophisticated network that used NGO covers to circulate polarising narratives and move foreign funds under the pretext of religious and educational initiatives.

The Turkish Embassy in New Delhi, however, has firmly refuted any association with these developments.

It stated that Türkiye condemns terrorism in all forms and dismissed allegations of Ankara’s involvement in radicalisation efforts targeting India as “entirely baseless and misleading.”

Yet the emergence of the Turkey connection in the Delhi blast probe underscores a growing concern: anti-India terror activities are now expanding beyond Pakistan’s borders.

For India’s security establishment, this shift—though alarming—is not altogether unexpected.

Turkey has, over the past several years, lent overt and covert support to separatist elements linked to the Kashmir militancy.

Notably, Ankara had reportedly assisted Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.

At the height of Indo-Pak tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack, when India had publicly vowed to retaliate against perpetrators and enablers based in Pakistan, several reports claimed that Turkish C-130E Hercules aircraft had landed in Pakistan carrying defence consignments.

The speculation was that this was a rushed emergency supply ahead of any potential Indian response. Turkey later asserted that the aircraft were merely on refuelling duty.

However, subsequent disclosures from the Indian government suggested something far more direct: that on the night of May 7–8, the Pakistan Army deployed Turkey-supplied SONGAR drones at 36 Indian positions.

Around the same time, a Turkish naval vessel, TCG BÜYÜKADA, docked in Karachi—only days after a Turkish Air Force C-130 had arrived there.

While Ankara labelled the port call as a routine navies-to-navies interaction following an Oman visit, the timing raised eyebrows within Indian intelligence circles.

Beyond the battlefield, the Ankara–Islamabad relationship has also deepened in the domain of information warfare. For years, Turkey has amplified Pakistan’s narrative through state and state-linked media, influence operations, and academic-style conferences.

Turkish broadcaster TRT World has played a central role in projecting pro-Pakistan messaging, particularly through the period of Operation Sindoor and its aftermath.

Merely two weeks before the Pahalgam attack, Istanbul hosted a conference focusing on Pakistan’s Kashmir stance, with several pro-Pakistan voices in attendance.

President Erdogan had once halted ISI-driven Kashmir seminars in Turkey, but later permitted their revival. Since 2018, coordinated digital campaigns pushing anti-India rhetoric have regularly emanated from both Istanbul and Islamabad.

Sources allege that through an extensive NGO ecosystem spread across continents, the Erdogan family has cultivated a sprawling influence network targeting Indian, Middle-Eastern, and Western audiences alike—promoting narratives sympathetic to Hamas and aligned with Pakistan’s anti-India position.

One such entity is TUGVA, a Turkish organisation linked to Erdogan’s AKP, which has reportedly helped Pakistan cement its messaging strategies.

Pakistan, in turn, has frequently echoed Turkey’s positions on global issues, including the discourse on Islamophobia.

Under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan—who has dominated Turkish politics since 2003, first as Prime Minister and then as President—India–Turkey relations have oscillated between strained and cautiously cooperative.

Turkey recognised India soon after independence, and ties remained cordial through the Cold War when India pursued non-alignment and Turkey aligned with NATO.

But Erdogan’s ascent brought a revised foreign-policy posture shaped by neo-Ottoman aspirations and an emerging belief that Turkey should assert leadership across the Muslim world.

His “Asia Anew” initiative, unveiled in 2019, was framed as an outreach to Asian powers, yet analysts see it as part of a larger ideological project that also fuels sharper commentary on Kashmir.

Erdogan has repeatedly invoked Kashmir at international forums—including several times at the UN General Assembly—often echoing Pakistan’s stance.

His references, especially after the revocation of Article 370 in 2019, have prompted strong objections from New Delhi.

Turkey’s expanding military partnership with Pakistan—spanning drone transfers, naval platforms, and defence technology—continues to worry Indian policymakers.

Meanwhile, Ankara’s tightening ties with China under the Belt and Road Initiative contrast sharply with India’s own objections to the BRI due to sovereignty concerns linked to CPEC.

India has responded by strengthening partnerships with Turkey’s regional rivals. New Delhi has expanded defence and diplomatic cooperation with Greece and Cyprus—countries with long-standing tensions with Ankara.

In 2021, India and Greece conducted their first joint naval drills in the Mediterranean, and in June this year, PM Modi became the first Indian PM in 23 years to visit Cyprus—a move widely interpreted as strategic signalling to Turkey.

Simultaneously, India has bolstered defence cooperation with Armenia, a country locked in conflict with Azerbaijan, one of Turkey’s closest allies.

India’s supply of Pinaka rocket systems, radars, and anti-tank weapons to Armenia marks a geopolitical alignment seen as counterbalancing Turkey’s assertiveness in the South Caucasus.

India’s strengthened ties with Israel, France, and the UAE—nations wary of Turkey’s regional activism—further underline New Delhi’s broader strategy.

In response to this comprehensive reporting, the Ambassador of Türkiye to India issued a statement dismissing the conclusions as “unfounded claims and misinformation.”

He emphasised that Türkiye’s foreign policy rests on peace, collaboration, and mutual respect, urging the media to adhere to verified and responsible journalism.

The ambassador stressed that both nations are historic civilisations and G20 partners with a shared interest in global stability, and said Ankara is committed to enhancing bilateral cooperation across economic, cultural, and political spheres.

Still, taken together, the sequence of events, emerging intelligence, and Turkey’s growing closeness with Pakistan raise unsettling questions—ones that point to far more than coincidence. Even though Turkey denies everything, the pattern is hard to ignore.

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