It's not just that. In fact, that aspect of the relationship is recoverable because the U.S. will drive India to intensify its anti-China focus.
The issue is literally us. We don't have enough internal know-how and capacity to get the most out of the JF-17 program. We're reliant on China, and the Chinese aren't going to help us build our aerospace fundamentals (and rightfully so). China has zero incentive and -- be it for geo-political reasons or just keeping things simple and cost-effective -- have us buy their stuff off-the-shelf as-is.
Turkey, on the other hand, is more willing to help us build our R&D.
Why?
Because they're not as big as China (or US) where they can tap into tons of funding, or rely on domestic orders to drive economies-of-scale. They need partners and are willing to build consortiums with other countries, notably Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The TuAF isn't going to get more than 200 MMUs, but if you factor in Pakistan, Malaysia, etc, you could get to 500 units.
However, we can't do jack because we don't have enough know-how and capacity.
So, to get to its actual goal, Turkey is willing to 'upskill' us so that we can one day support their bigger projects.
Of course, nothing's free of strings. For a start, Turkey wouldn't want any of this net-new work happening at PAC, for example. It doesn't want to deal with generals, but rather, actual engineers and other aerospace industry and management professionals. It's going to be through Turkish Aerospace's subsidiary in Pakistan and, potentially, private sector companies in Pakistan.
This JF-17 "study" could be a carrot from Turkey to help us build real fundamentals and to show AHQ that domestic R&D has to work a certain way for it to pay off. The PAF solves some of its issues (e.g., finally getting a grasp of the JF-17) and, in return, Turkey gets to shape our aerospace industry such that we support their interests (the Turks want to build their own Airbus or Boeing; a megacorp with facilities across several countries).