Operation DostMaj Gen (Dr.) Ashok Kumar

• It’s Military Support to Pakistan in Op Sindoor Sparks Diplomatic Crisis
• India Considers Türkiye’s Drone Operations as an Act of War in Sindoor Conflict

By Maj Gen (Dr.) Ashok Kumar, VSM (Retired)

New Delhi. 03 July 2025. Pakistan has been facing its existential crisis right from its independence as the country was born on predominantly anti India stance developed by its leaders for the satisfaction of their individual egos having no interest either in the growth of the country or for the happiness & prosperity of its people. Due to its obsession with J & K state of India, it launched military operations thrice even if the Kargil intrusion is discounted. Despite suffering military defeats in all the conflicts, it suffered dismemberment in 1971 losing East Pakistan which is the current day Bangladesh.

Having failed as a nation state, it adopted terrorism as part of its statecraft to launch its tirade on innocent people of India with brutal killings on multiple occasions, the latest being on 22 April 25 at Pahalgam (J&K) wherein 26 persons were killed that too in front of their wives and children. The brutal killing was executed based on religious identity, another low by Pakistan sponsored terrorists. It is beside the point that they did not succeed in widening the religious fault line but suffered the reverse impact wherein it united the entire country, a manifestation never seen earlier except during wars.

China has been using Pakistan almost as a vassal state and has been arming it since 1959 when border dispute between India and China started emerging. As on date, 80 percent defence inventory of Pakistan is from Chinese equipment. Not only this, Pakistan is the biggest defence importer from China. China has also enmeshed Pakistan through the CPEC corridor, ports and infrastructure development and loans/grants. Pakistan stands totally debt trapped whose impact  will be known to the world as we go ahead. As this was not enough, China supported Pakistan to not only defend it but also equipping it including provision of all kinds of support during Op Sindoor. It is beside the point that all Chinese equipment  failed miserably and both these countries are surviving on false propaganda to hide their defeat.

Given the animosity of China with India, Chinese support to Pakistan is a ‘given’ fact though the way this support came right from Pahalgam attack on 22 April 2025 was a new revelation specially when  the attempts are underway between India and China to normalise the relations consequent to LAC standoff. Though Chinese support to Pakistan was part of its anti-India reckless behaviour  but that can still be rationalized given China’s relationship with Pakistan and animosity towards India.

But the entry of Turkiye in the run up to and during Op Sindoor was something unprecedented. Turkiye has been supporting Pakistan since long based on Islamic ideology and was one of the first countries to recognize Pakistan on 22 November 1947. Turkiye has been also the lone country in the world which has supported Pakistan on Kashmir issue whereas other countries and groupings have maintained a more pragmatic and nuanced approach. The support provided by Turkiye in the run up to Op Sindoor and during Op Sindoor was not only limited to warlike stores but it also supported Pakistan with equipment crews. Some of these details are covered in the succeeding paragraphs.

Turkiye has been known for its drone production in multiple countries in the world. The famous TB2 Bakhtiyar drones have been purchased by a number of countries in the world due to their long range ISR and destructive capabilities. Pakistan developed a joint manufacturing plan for this category of drones right from 2018 and introduced in PAF from 2021-2022 albeit their numbers and efficacy remains shrouded in mystery. This collaboration was known to India and it was factored in the threat matrix by India for whatever worth it was.

Main involvement of Turkiye came up during Op Sindoor wherein it sent a transport aircraft load of Asisguard produced Songar drones prior to 07 May 25 and another load of large numbers of drones most probably during 08/09 May 25. The drones sent included Asisguard Songar drones and Yiha III drones with majority being of Songar category.

These drones require trained operators for using these successfully for ISR and strike missions. Given the shortage of time and impending Indian attack which could have come anytime after 22 April 2025, it was critical that Turkiye not only provides the adequate number of drones but also the drone instructors and drone operators as it was not possible for Pakistan to train the requisite number of Songar drone operators in a short time frame available after receipt of these drones from Turkiye. This was a new normal demonstrated by Turkiye. While provision of arms and ammunition is a routine process for parties to the conflict to get these from their friendly countries, the speed with which Turkiye sent large number of drones by transport military aircraft combined with a large number of instructors and drone operators is something which is a major cause of concern. It is as good as Turkiye joining the Op Sindoor and being an active party to the conflict.

Provision of large numbers of drones by Turkiye along with drone operators resulted in Pakistan launching 400-500 drones all along the Western border starting from J&K in the North and going down in the South to Gujarat while transiting through Punjab and Rajasthan. These drones were targeted at military infrastructure and could have created substantial damage had it not been for the Indian Air Defence systems to neutralise all these drones. It goes to prove that Turkiye was at war with India as much as was Pakistan.

The ground forensic examination of drones have confirmed that these were Turkiye drones including Songar drones as well as Yiha III drones. The reported killing of two drone operators in one of the Indian airstrikes on the morning of 10 May 2025 at one of the Pakistani air bases also reinforced presence of drone trainers and drone operators from Turkiye. The numbers are likely to be large given the use of these Turkiye drones all along our Western front.

India has always believed in the concept of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ viz One Earth, One Family and therefore went all out to support Turkiye when it was hit by the devastating earthquake in February 2023. India termed this assistance as ‘Operation Dost’ and provided NDRF teams, search and rescue dog squads, medical teams, field hospitals, medicines and large quantities of relief materials. Turkiye proved itself as an ungrateful nation and bandwagoned  Pakistan against India during Op Sindoor by not only through its equipment but also by its trainers and operators.

It is essential that conduct of such nations are critically analysed and appropriate responses be planned at all levels. Such support should be factored in our threat matrix for the requisite capability development . Declaring Turkiye as a hostile nation could be first such step. As we have declared that an act of terrorism will be treated as an act of war, similarly there is a need to declare that countries supporting the enemy with crew/ manpower will be considered at war.

(Maj Gen Ashok Kumar, VSM (Retd) is Director General Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), a Kargil war veteran and a defence analyst. He specialises on neighbouring countries with special focus on China. The views in the article are solely the author’s. He can be contacted at editor.adu@gmail.com).