Indian media using plane crash as weapon against Türkiye
Islamabad: The Indian media is using the recent plane crash as a weapon for propaganda against Turkey and is fabricating a political narrative against Türkiye and Pakistan without any investigation or evidence.
According to Kashmir Media Service, on June 12, 2025, Air India Flight 171 suffered a tragic accident and immediately after the accident, prominent Indian media personalities like Arnab Goswami and Barkha Dutt, without any credible evidence, fabricated a political narrative in which Türkiye and Pakistan are indirectly being held responsible for the tragedy before the investigation was completed.
Arnab Goswami in his TV program said he does not feel safe travelling in a plane that is maintained by a Turkish company like “Technik”. This company is owned by the Turkish government whose head, Tayyip Erdogan, is anti-India and pro-Pakistan. If we do not send our planes to Pakistan for service, then why send them to an enemy country like Turkey?
Indian journalist Barkha Dutt, who was at the forefront of false reporting during the recent Indo-Pak war, is calling sabotage through contaminated oil a possible cause of the plane crash.
Arnab Goswami’s emotional statement directly targets the Turkish company Teknik, which is an internationally recognized EASA-certified repair, maintenance and overhaul company and is trusted by more than 100 global airlines, including NATO and European Union countries. So far, no civil aviation regulator or investigation team, including DGCA or ICAO, has linked the Turkish company Teknik to this accident or any previous Air India incident.
Despite this, an attempt is being made to create the impression that the political leanings of the Turkish government, and not the technical performance, should be the measure of aircraft safety. This is not journalism, but biased accusations.
A Reuters analysis correctly points out that the Boeing 787 that crashed was delivered in 2014, is now 11 years old, and is part of a fleet that is facing challenges such as operational issues, outdated systems, and delayed repairs. Boeing itself has also undergone international scrutiny.
In April 2024, “safety whistleblower” Sam Salehpour revealed serious quality control failures in the production of the 787 Dreamliner, including faulty drilling, missing parts, and fuselage gaps. These concerns have been confirmed by former experts such as John Barnett. In addition, several engineers have warned that structural problems in the Dreamliner could have serious consequences. These concerns are currently under investigation by the FAA and NTSB, but the Indian media does not mention it, and the Modi government is also not being questioned that why Air India signed a $70 billion contract with Boeing and Airbus for more than 1,000 aircraft when experts around the world have repeatedly warned about the technical defects of Boeing aircraft?
Air India has had 13 fatal accidents and more than 20 non-fatal incidents in its history, most of which were due to pilot error, in-house maintenance or cockpit issues, rather than the fault of a foreign MRO.
Air India posted a loss of $520 million in the fiscal year 2023-24, which reflects a lack of management investment and management problems.
The recent plane crash is not the first fatal incident, but instead of examining technical flaws or regulatory weaknesses, Indian media personalities are constantly bent on linking it to Türkiye ties with Pakistan. Dragging Türkiye into India’s internal aviation crisis on the basis of its ties with Pakistan, as Goswami did, can damage India’s reputation at international forums like IATA, UNGA and G20.
The pioneers of militant journalism must understand that their foolish analysis of a NATO member country without evidence can have the opposite effect. Türkiye has every right to challenge India’s position at the international level.
Targeting Türkiye and Pakistan by weaponizing a national tragedy is not only diverting public attention from the real issues but also undermining diplomatic etiquette. Thus, public confidence in India’s aviation security system is being shaken.
On June 13, 2025, an Air India Hong Kong-Phuket-Delhi flight was diverted back to Phuket Airport as a security measure after receiving a bomb threat. The facts behind this incident seem to be connected to the statements of those who are trying to create a war atmosphere in India through fake news, including media personalities like Arnab Goswami and Barkha Dutt, who are already promoting inflammatory narratives.
