‘Cannot do any harm to Pakistan’: Pune trader receives threat message amid call for boycott of Turkiye apples

India-Pakistan conflict: Tensions in Pune’s fruit trade market after the recent protests against Turkiye have taken an unsettling turn.

Some days after a group of traders at the city’s Agriculture Produce Market Committee (popularly known as Marketyard) announced they would stop importing apples from Turkiye to protest against that country’s open support to Pakistan, a trader on Thursday claimed to have received a threatening voice message from Pakistan.

The trader said he began receiving multiple calls from an unknown number.

What was the threatening voice message?

“Around 9 this morning, I started getting calls on my phone but did not pick up the phone. Later I received a voice note message. The message contained slurs for India and said we can not do any harm to Pakistan or Turkiye. I sent a voice note responding to the threats,” the trader told reporters, as per PTI.

Suyog Zende, a trader at Marketyard, had joined others in condemning Turkiye’s vocal support for Pakistan following India’s recent strikes on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. As part of the protest, the traders vowed to stop dealing in apples from Turkiye.

What was the trader’s response?

In response, Zende said he sent a voice message back, addressing the threats. Traders are now planning to meet with the Pune Police Commissioner to formally raise the issue, reported PTI.

Protest at Pune’s Marketyard

The same day, several traders at Marketyard threw crates of Turkish apples onto the road. “We import a significant quantity of produce from Turkiye—apples, litchi, plums, cherries, and dry fruits,” news wire PTI quoted the Pune trader as saying. “Apples alone account for around ₹1,200 crore annually, ” he added.

The incident has sparked concerns over the safety of local traders amid growing geopolitical tensions and raised questions about the role of trade in diplomatic disputes.

UP traders boycott Turkish apples

Following the lead of Pune traders, fruit sellers across several parts of Uttar Pradesh also joined the protest against Turkiye in response to its support for Pakistan during India’s Operation Sindoor.

Speaking to news agency ANI, several vendors confirmed that while some previously ordered consignments of Turkish fruits are still in transit, no new orders will be placed going forward. The traders emphasised that they will refuse to trade with any country that backs Pakistan against India.

“We’ve made the decision to stop purchasing fruits from Turkiye,” said one trader. “Any nation that supports terrorism will have no place in Indian markets,” the trader told ANI.