Showing to friends and foes alike that Turkey is prepared to extend its hand far beyond its borders when its security is threatened, Turkish jet fighters pounded PKK terrorist positions in northern Iraq's Sinjar and northeastern Syria.

Turkish jet fighters have been hitting PKK targets in the Qandil Mountains in northeastern Iraq for ages. But for the first time ever Turkey has targeted the PKK beyond Qandil and deep in Iraq, which is a clear manifestation of Turkey's determination to chase the terrorists well beyond our borders.

It is also a first that Turkish fighters have attacked PKK positions in northeastern Syria, in the so-called Rojava area, which is a stronghold of the Syrian-Kurdish terrorist group, the Democratic Union Party (PYD).

Turkey has been telling the Baghdad government as well as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) that the PKK's presence in Sinjar is unwanted. The KRG, and its leader Massoud Barzani, have been complaining about the presence of the PKK in Sinjar for more than a year, yet, they have not been able to deal with the problem. There is even talk that Iran may have been encouraging the presence of the PKK in the area.

Turkey showed what it will do when its security is threatened when it entered northern Syria last year and pushed Daesh terrorists out of the region with the help of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

But Daesh is not the only security concern for Ankara in Syria.

Extending help to the PKK in its terrorist activities inside Turkey, the PYD is also regarded as a terrorist threat. The military has said the PYD was involved in a recent incident where the PKK dug a tunnel in Turkey to plant a bomb in the heart of Diyarbakır.

The PKK is holed up in the border areas spanning from the Euphrates River to the Iraqi border to the east and to the Afrin region just east of Turkey's Hatay province.

Turkey considers the presence of the PYD and the PKK, in these areas, as a security risk and a direct threat. So it was senseless to think that Turkey would just sit idly and watch the PKK and PYD roam freely next door and grow into a greater threat as the United States provides heavy arms to the PYD to supposedly fight Daesh.

Now that Turkey has shown that it will hit the PKK whenever and wherever necessary. This should be an eye opener to friends and foes alike.

EUROPE DOES IT AGAINThe Turkish people demonstrated their loyalty to democracy when they flocked to the streets to halt a coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

This courageous act to defy military tanks and F-16 fighters deserved a medal and much encouragement from the European states, yet that never came. The Turks also displayed their loyalty to democracy by flooding the polling stations on April 16 in a referendum to approve a presidential system of government.

So instead of applauding the Turkish people, it seems the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) decided to punish us for approving a presidential system.

On April 25, the assembly decided to reopen a monitoring process against the country. The co-rapporteurs of the monitoring committee recommended that the assembly "re-open the monitoring procedure in respect to Turkey until its concerns are addressed in a satisfactory manner."

Turkey is being put in a spot as if the coup had succeeded on July 15 and that a junta was governing it. This is provocative, senseless and harmful. It will only alienate the Turkish people even further and destroy any bit of leverage the European states have on Turkey. It will also create a demand from the Turkish people to end the migrant deal with Europe.

Those who voted to put Turkey in this "monitoring" state really do not realize the harm they have committed for the sake of populism. They will find out the hard way.