New Delhi: After imposing restrictions on China’s state-controlled media outlets, India has now blocked Turkish broadcaster TRT World on X. This was announced on Wednesday. India has made its policy clear about crackdowns on foreign state-run media platforms accused of spreading disinformation and propaganda.
India has already blocked the official X handles of Global Times and Xinhua, both state-controlled media platforms of the People’s Republic of China. This came after repeated warnings against dissemination of fake news and narratives hostile to Indian interests, particularly amid heightened military tensions with Pakistan. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) had earlier fact-checked posts on Global Times’ X handle and declared them ‘Fake’.
Both China and Turkey sided with Pakistan after India accused terror outfits based in Pakistan of masterminding and carrying out the Pahalgam terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22 that left 26 persons, mostly tourists, dead and several others injured.
Even after India launched Op Sindoor against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), exposing the links between proscribed outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Pakistan Army, China and Turkey continued to back Pakistan. Even Azerbaijan spoke in favour of Pakistan.
One reason behind this could be that both countries are suppliers of military equipment to Pakistan, which it put to use against India in retaliation to Op Sindoor. None of these proved to be effective against India’s robust air defence system. In the case of Azerbaijan, Pakistan is known to have sent its troops and equipment there during the country’s war against Armenia.
Over the last couple of weeks, India has been witnessing a growing backlash against Turkey, fueled by anger over Ankara’s stance. What began just as an online protest with hashtags like #BoycottTurkey quickly caused a major economic impact. Businesses and consumers across the nation are now shying away from Turkish products.
Both Turkey and Azerbaijan were also turning into favoured destinations for Indian tourists. Tour agencies have now stopped bookings for these two countries.
