Turkiye in process of forming military alliance with Bangladesh and Pakistan

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan attempted to corroborate the alleged development from Turkish media outlets and conducted a keyword search to check if other credible news outlets have covered it.

Posts from multiple users on social media platform X since June 15, 2025, claimed that Turkish media reported that Turkiye was in the process of forming a military alliance with Bangladesh and Pakistan. However, no such development has been reported by Turkish media outlets.

Pakistan and Turkiye enjoy strong bilateral ties built on shared cultural, religious and historical bonds, as well as mutual respect. Ankara also shares good relations with Bangladesh.

HOW IT STARTED

On July 15, 2025, a pro-military X account, which describes itself as a network reporting on conflicts and strategic developments in South Asia, said in a post: “Breaking: Turkiye also in process to form a security alliance with Bangladesh and Pakistan, Turkish media.”

Despite the attribution to Turkish media, the post did not provide any link to any news report or mention the specific source for the alleged development.

The post gained over 65,000 views.

It was similarly shared by another pro-military account, gaining close to 14,000 views, and an account focusing on developments related to Bangladesh, racking up 64,800 views.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in Pakistan’s defence cooperation with other Muslim countries amid the current geopolitical environment.

Attempting to corroborate the alleged development through major Turkish media outlets such as TRT, Anadolu Agency, Daily Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Hurriyet Daily News and more yielded no reports or news stories on the issue or even on any bilateral security alliance between Turkiye with either of the other two countries.

A keyword search showed that a similar claim was shared by a Pakistani user on X on January 15. The caption of the post said: “Pakistan, Turkiye, and Bangladesh are joining forces to establish a joint military production hub. This will enhance defence capabilities and fostering global [and] regional cooperation.”

The post gained 51,200 views, however, there was no development reported in Turkish or international media since then till date that corroborated the claim about the establishment of a joint military hub between the three countries.

The keyword search to check for any security alliance also did not yield any report or news story from Pakistani and Bangladeshi media outlets that confirmed such a development.

Furthermore, no information regarding the same was reported by the Turkish, Pakistani and Bangladeshi governments or their foreign and defence ministries.

As per the most recent developments concerning the three countries, a July 9 Dawn report said the Turkish foreign and defence ministers visited Islamabad and officials of both sides had announced the establishment of special economic zones for Turkish businessmen.

It added that both countries would increase their defence cooperation and in a later meeting with the Pakistan Air Force chief, it was decided to establish dedicated joint working groups to streamline and accelerate progress across various sectors of mutual interest.

However, the report made no mention of plans for any formal security alliance.

Meanwhile, Daily Sabah via Anadolu Agency reported on July 9 that Bangladesh’s army chief called for closer defence cooperation with Turkiye during a visit by the head of the Presidency of Defence Industries, Haluk Gorgun.

The two had discussed strengthening their continuing defence cooperation but made no mention of any plans for a security alliance.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that Turkiye is forming a military alliance with Bangladesh and Pakistan is false.

No such development has been reported by the Turkish media and government or by Pakistan, Bangladesh and credible international news outlets.

Evidence and References

July 9, 2025, Dawn news report:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1923012/pakistan-turkiye-to-establish-special-economic-zone-for-turkish-entrepreneurs-in-karachi-dar

July 9, 2025, Daily Sabah news report:
https://www.dailysabah.com/business/defense/bangladesh-army-chief-calls-for-close-defense-co-op-with-turkiye