For the best experience, open
https://m.thewire.in
on your mobile browser.
Advertisement

India Revokes Security Clearance To Turkish Airport Services Firm, Defers Initiation of Ambassador

This, amid public calls not to travel to Turkey and after Erdogan expressed solidarity with Islamabad during the India-Pakistan conflict.
article_Author
The Wire Staff
May 15 2025
  • whatsapp
  • fb
  • twitter
This, amid public calls not to travel to Turkey and after Erdogan expressed solidarity with Islamabad during the India-Pakistan conflict.
india revokes security clearance to turkish airport services firm  defers initiation of ambassador
Logo of Celebi Aviation.
Advertisement

New Delhi: Amid some public opposition to Turkey's support for Islamabad during the recently concluded India-Pakistan conflict, New Delhi revoked its security clearance to a Turkish airport services firm for “national security” reasons, with the ceremony in which the Turkish ambassador-designate was to present his credentials to President Droupadi Murmu also being postponed.

Three Union government-run universities have also suspended active memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Turkish institutions, with two of them citing “national security considerations” as the reason.

On Thursday (May 15), the Union civil aviation ministry said that the Bureau of Civil and Aviation Security (BCAS) had revoked the security clearance given to the Turkey-based Celebi Aviation firm and its associated companies “on grounds related to national security”.

A BCAS notice circulated by PTI said the security clearance was given to Celebi for its role as a ground handling agency in November 2022.

‘Nothing is above the security of our nation’ and ‘national security and public safety are paramount and non-negotiable’, civil aviation minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu was cited as saying in a press release.

Arrangements are being made at affected airports to ensure that passengers and cargo are handled smoothly, it added.

Celebi’s India wing issued a statement saying it “unequivocally refutes all misleading and factually incorrect allegations” about its ownership and operations in India.

It responded to what it said were posts “falsely suggesting security concerns at the Delhi airport cargo terminal” by saying that its facilities are governed and audited by Indian authorities, including the BCAS.

Saying that it is majority-owned by international investors from across various countries, Celebi’s India wing wrote it is “not a Turkish organisation by any standard” and that it is “truly an Indian enterprise, led by and managed by Indian professionals, deeply invested in the country and committed to its growth”.

It also denied that a daughter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s daughter is a shareholder in Celebi’s parent organisation.

The campaign to signal displeasure with Turkey appeared to carry an official imprimatur after the credentials ceremony for the Turkish ambassador-designate, along with those of four other countries, was abruptly postponed on Thursday.

Turkey appointed Ali Ersoy as its ambassador to India in March.

At 4 pm, Esroy as well as the ambassador-designates of Bangladesh, Thailand, St Kitts and Nevis, and Costa Rica were scheduled to present their credentials to Murmu, an event that would mark the formal commencement of their postings.

However, the event was postponed three hours in advance, with the Ministry of External Affairs issuing a statement attributing it to “scheduling” issues.

However, the reason for the sudden scheduling conflict remains unclear, especially given that such ceremonies are typically arranged weeks in advance, with multiple envoys grouped together for a ceremonial presentation.

Although government officials did not cite Turkey as the cause of the postponement, the timing of the decision, seen in the context of other recent developments, sent a pointed message.

Incidentally, sources confirmed that India has not officially lodged any protest with Turkey.

On Thursday, the Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi said it was suspending all MoUs with institutions affiliated with the Turkish government “due to national security considerations”. The Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad also cancelled “all MoUs with Turkey”.

A day prior, the Jawaharlal Nehru University suspended a five-year MoU signed in February with Turkey’s Inonu University, also citing “national security considerations”.

Meanwhile, there have been calls for Indians to avoid travelling to Turkey or to boycott Turkish goods in light of Ankara’s support to Pakistan during the recent Indo-Pakistani conflict.

Similar sentiments were also expressed against Azerbaijan, which expressed solidarity with Pakistan during the conflict.

MakeMyTrip said yesterday that it saw a decline of 60% in bookings to Turkey and to Azerbaijan over the previous week and that cancellations during the same time rose by 250%, PTI reported.

Turkish broadcaster TRT World also had its X account withheld in India on Wednesday, although it was restored later that day.

A day after India conducted missile strikes against ‘terrorist infrastructure’ in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7 in retaliation to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, ‘voiced his solidarity with Pakistan’ and “offered his condolences for the Pakistanis martyred in the attack”.

“Noting that Türkiye supports the calm and restrained policy pursued by Pakistan in this process”, per the country’s Directorate of Communications, Erdogan “stated that Pakistan’s proposal for an impartial, transparent and trustworthy international investigation into the Jammu and Kashmir terror attack is appropriate”. Islamabad had proposed an international inquiry into the Pahalgam attack.

Erdogan also wrote on X on Wednesday in response to a post by Sharif that the “brotherhood between Turkey and Pakistan” is “one of the best examples of true friendship”.

“We appreciate the sensible, patient policy of the Pakistani state, which prioritises dialogue and compromise in resolving disputes,” Erdogan said, adding that “we will continue to be by your side in good and bad times”.

The Union defence ministry said last week that India had intercepted a number of drones launched by Pakistan at around 36 locations and that ‘preliminary reports’ based on their debris suggested they were Turkish Asisguard Songar drones.

Turkey was among the countries that condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, saying in a strong statement on the same day that it was “deeply saddened to learn” about it and that it “condemn[ed] this heinous attack”.

Another source of strain in Indo-Turkish relations in recent years has been Erdogan’s statements on Kashmir at the UN General Assembly and in the Pakistani parliament.

In 2020, after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and demoted it into two Union territories, Erdogan while addressing a joint sitting of Pakistan’s parliament said that India’s move “aggravates the current situation”, “revokes the freedom and … rights of the Kashmiri people” and “does not bring any benefit to anyone”.

Later that year, he reiterated this at the UN General Assembly and also said that Ankara favoured “solving this issue through dialogue, within the framework of the United Nations resolutions and especially in line with the expectations of the people of Kashmir”.

India responded to this remark by saying that “Turkey should learn to respect sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its own policies more deeply”.

New Delhi considers all disputes between it and Pakistan to be purely bilateral matters and maintains that the 1972 Simla Agreement provides the basis for this. Islamabad on the other hand has sought to internationalise the Kashmir issue.

However, Erdogan did not mention Kashmir during the 2024 UN General Assembly – something he had done in the four previous years – and had even held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 summit, where Modi’s office said Erdogan thanked Modi for Indian aid after the 2023 earthquakes in southern Turkey.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.

Advertisement
tlbr_img1 Video tlbr_img2 Editor's pick tlbr_img3 Trending