4 days ago
Last Updated:May 27, 2025, 09:17 IST
Sources confirm that Turkey's Intelligence MIT and state-backed NGOs such as the IHH are targeting youth from Kashmir and Kerala.
PFI members and Zakir Naik seen with IHH officials. (Image: News18)
The Turkish government is actively providing logistical, diplomatic, and financial support to various terror groups worldwide, revealed top intelligence sources. CNN-News18 has decoded Turkey’s role as a radicalisation sleeper cell against India, highlighting the involvement of Turkey’s Intelligence Organisation (MIT) and state-backed NGOs in systematically supporting terror groups like Jamaat-e-Islami, Hizbul Mujahideen, and the Popular Front of India (PFI). Sources confirm that MIT and NGOs such as the IHH are targeting youth from Kashmir and Kerala.
Earlier reports by CNN-News18 have indicated that PFI members have joined ISIS, traveling to Syria with assistance from IHH, a Turkey-based government-backed NGO. Intelligence points to MIT and Bilal Erdogan, son of the Turkish President, targeting Kashmiri and Kerala youth. Bilal Erdogan’s NGOs, such as the Turkey Youth Foundation (TÜGVA), reportedly bring Indian Muslim youth from Kerala and Kashmir to Turkey under the Erasmus scheme. These youth are subsequently introduced to Pakistani organisations like Jamaat-e-Islami, Hizbul, and anti-India groups like PFI.
Intelligence sources have also disclosed that Turkey is funding fugitive preacher Zakir Naik to promote anti-India content on social media. Zakir Naik, hosted by state-backed IHH, visited Turkey and Pakistan, furthering anti-India narratives. The United Nations Security Council has listed IHH for aiding ISIS in Syria.
Turkish intelligence and ISI aim to destabilise mainland India after Kashmir, say sources. The IHH, linked to MIT, has ties with PFI since 2018. The Turkish charity group has been involved in funding and facilitating arms smuggling to Hizbul via Nepal, with Turkish-made pistols recovered from militants in Kashmir in 2024.
According to top intelligence sources, PFI leaders EM Abdul Rehman and Prof P Koya discussed partnerships with IHH officials in Istanbul, with IHH Secretary-General Durmuş Aydın coordinating anti-India activities. PFI has developed a strong base in Turkey with the help of Indian students studying there, say sources. One such student, Noushad, was sent to Turkey to pursue a Ph.D. and further PFI’s agenda, sources added.
State-backed NGOs like TÜGVA introduce Indian students in Turkey to Jamaat-e-Islami. An EU report from 2021 confirmed TÜGVA’s role in funding anti-India activities under the guise of charity. Turkish intelligence MIT also arranges funding for seminars in Kerala, targeting individuals with radical traits and offering them free trips to Istanbul for indoctrination, intel sources have stated.
Earlier during Ramadan, Zaka payments were sent to Kashmiri separatist networks, including the Legal Forum for Kashmir (LFK) and other PFI-linked organisations. These revelations underscore the extensive network and strategy employed by Turkish intelligence and affiliated entities to foment radicalisation and destabilise regions within India, sources say.
Location : First Published:News world 'NGOs Funding Terrorists': Decoding Turkey's Role As 'Radicalisation Sleeper Cell' Against India | Exclusive
