Srinagar, Feb 27, KDC: Mediterranean-Asian Investigative Journalists have released an eleven (11) page report revealing that Turkey has set up a propaganda team, in collaboration with Pakistani ISI, to further their anti-India propaganda. The said report has been reposted by Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).
As per the report which is lying in possession of J&K’s premier News Agency Kashmir Dot Com- (KDC), 1/4th of top and middle-range posts at the TRT World have been handed out to Pakistani and Indian Kashmiri journalists.
“Turkish Intelligence agency MIT collaborated with Pakistan’s ISPR (Inter-Service Public Relations) to establish Erogan as the ‘leader’ of the Muslim Ummah. As part of its strategy, TRT World employed 50 Pakistani nationals in its 300-member staff. The number of Kashmiri journalists is reported to be more than a dozen. While undermining journalistic principles, TRT World and Anadolu Agency have been carrying out pro-Turkey and pro-Pakistan propaganda,” Mediterranean-Asian Investigative Journalists have revealed in their report.
According to report many Pakistani and Indian Kashmiri journalists have been hired by TRT World without credentials including Faisal Aziz Khan, Usman Mir, Ravale Mohydin, Mehboob Geelani, Baba Umar, Riyaz ul Khaliq, Iftikhar Gilani, Ruwa Shah, Mehnaaz Yaseen, Mohsin Mughal, Imran Garda, Faisal, Ahmed Bin Qasim and Shaheryar Mirza.
“From the background of most of these journalists, it doesn’t appear that qualification was the only criteria to hire them, “the report noted.
“To avoid scrutiny in Philia Forum countries, the journalists have been reporting while applying for travel visas for ‘recreational trips’ and ‘honeymoons’ in gross violation of visa norms,” the report observed.
As per the exclusive report several journalists of Pakistani and Indian Kashmir origin were also granted Turkish citizenship.
“The Turkish state-owned media are also coercing media houses in three continents to delete their stories and threatening them with legal action in case of non-compliance. “The mercenary journalists have been invited, recruited, and settled in Turkey to reinforce and support the operations of Turkish intelligence in projecting Erdogan as the undisputed champion of the region as well as of the Ummah,” the report said.
“Pakistan has also propagated Turkish fictional web series on Ertugrul Gazi to sell the dreams of ‘Ottoman imperialism’ to the countrymen. The Turkish-government sponsored web series also served the purpose of inciting a section of Indians to rise against their own country. Interestingly, most journalists who featured in the report also endorsed the web series. It was also found that TRT World did at least 31 articles praising the conversion of Hagia Sophia to a mosque, 972 articles criticising Saudi Arabia for Yemen crisis, 65 articles on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, 30 articles on Turkey-Pakistan-Malaysia alliance and 14 pieces criticizing Indian government in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370. A majority of these articles were written by Pakistani and Indian Kashmiri journalists,” the report added. (KDC)
