Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Hakan Fidan’s message of solidarity with Pakistan against India’s Operation Sindoor has led to widespread calls for boycotting Turkey and divesting any Indian ties in the country. Indians are expressing outrage at Turkey’s outright pro-Pakistan stance.
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.
Meanwhile, Pune traders have launched their decisive action against the Turkey by boycotting apple imports.
Many travel aggregators and travel agencies too have either ended their partnership with the official airlines of Turkey, or paused any new bookings. Indian travellers too are rethinking their travel plans.
Congress leader Kuldeep Singh Rathore (Himachal Pradesh) joined the public in escalating the focused opposition targeting Turkey. Calling for an immediate ban on Turkish imports, he accused the country of diplomatic betrayal, especially when India extended a helping arm out to the Middle East nation during the 2023 earthquake under ‘Operation Dost.’
