India needs to beware of Turkey: PFI meeting IHH is no accident

I have always advocated that India needs to be careful of Turkey and its nefarious plans for India, using radical Islamists and extremists to create conflicts.

Swedish Research Organisation – Nordic Monitor’s report revealing that Popular Front of India (PFI)allegedly met with İnsan Hak ve Hürriyetleri ve İnsani Yardım Vakfı (IHH) or better known as Humanitarian Relief Organisation should ring alarm bells within the Indian government, especially in light of the fact that the Anti-CAA riots across India had a PFI hand in it.

The Popular Front of India (PFI) met with IHH on October 20, 2018. The two key PFI leaders who attended the meeting were E.M. Abdul Rahiman and Prof. P. Koya, members of the National Executive Council of the PFI, according to the report. It was also attended by IHH Secretary-General Durmuş Aydın and IHH Vice President Hüseyin Oru.

According to a report by The Investigative Project on Terrorism in the Middle East Forum it reveals, “IHH has helped fund the Hamas military wing, which used the money to buy weapons and build training facilities, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Relations said.

IHH has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, Germany, and the Netherlands. IHH was a key player in the 2010 Free Gaza Movement flotilla that sought to break a blockade on Gaza. Ten people were killed when one of the boats refused to turn back and passengers attacked Israeli commandos as they tried to board.

Reports from that time allege that IHH distributed aid to the Salafist group Ahrar al-Sham, which fought alongside ISIS and the al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra. Turkish authorities additionally found that IHH not only recruits militants for al-Qaida and other terrorist groups but also provides terrorist groups access to arms and medical treatment.

A report by Jonathan Schanzer for the Foundation for Defence of Democracies states that “The IHH came under considerable scrutiny following the 2010 flotilla to Gaza. The Dutch and German governments both issued designations of purported IHH branches for their ties to Hamas (the Turkish IHH denied any connection to them). U.S. agencies also began examining whether the IHH deserved a terror designation. A leaked classified cable reveals the Treasury Department’s concerns that the IHH has provided Hamas with material assistance.

According to a report by the Danish Institute for International Studies, the Turkish authorities began investigating IHH in 1997 after receiving information that “leaders of IHH were purchasing automatic weapons from other regional Islamic militant groups.” A raid on the organization’s offices turned up weapons, explosives, and instructions for making IEDs.  Danish researchers also cited the investigation into IHH by French counterterrorism magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere that found that IHH maintained contact with al-Qaeda in Milan and Algerian terrorists in Europe, recruited militants for fighting in Bosnia, Chechnya, and Afghanistan, and played a central role in the al-Qaeda bomb plot targeting Los Angeles International airport.

PFI is an organization under the watch of the Central intelligence agency for its links to terror organizations and terror sympathizers.

The Delhi Police Special Cell arrested two Popular Front of India (PFI) members in its connection to the recent Delhi Riots. “We have arrested Mohammad Iliyas and Parvez Ahmed for their alleged role in instigating the people during the Delhi riots,” a senior official told the IANS news agency over the phone. “Their role has also surfaced in the funding of the riots,” the officer said.

The Special Cell, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also probing the alleged funding of the anti-CAA protest across the country by the PFI. In January, the ED said that it identified several bank accounts used for funding over Rs 120 crore for anti-CAA protests across the country.

Time the Indian government tighten the screws on PFI and further investigate into the October 2018 meeting with IHH.