PFI had ties with Qaida-linked Turkish group: Intel to MHA

New Delhi (TIP)- The Popular Front of India (PFI) has been maintaining close ties with a radical Turkish group accused of supplying arms to Al-Qaida-affiliated jihadists in Syria, states a dossier presented to the MHA by intelligence agencies. Two top leaders of the now-banned outfit were hosted by the group, officials said today. The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (Insan Hak ve Hurriyetleri ve Insani Yardim Vakfi, commonly known as IHH) projects itself as a Turkish human rights organisation involved in constructive work benefitting the society. However, intelligence agencies found that it is an Al-Qaida-linked Turkish charity organisation, which was accused of smuggling arms to Al-Qaida-affiliated jihadists in Syria in January 2014, the officials said, adding that the IHH has also been identified as an organisation that closely works with Turkish intelligence service MIT. The officials said that according to reports, EM Abdul Rahiman and Prof P Koya, members of PFI’s national executive council, were privately hosted in Istanbul by the IHH. The officials said the PFI appeared to be a perfect match for the IHH as both organisations have been advocating the jihadist ideology.