Pakistan goes an extra mile to woo Turkey

Pakistan whose relations with the Gulf states are increasingly getting lukewarm is going an extra mile to court Turkey. Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan who was on a visit to Turkey last week said that “Pakistan and Turkey are two countries, one nation” as they “not only share common culture and faith but also have similar interests and challenges.”

The Air Chief was addressing a meeting comprising board members of the Association of Justice Defenders and Strategic Studies Center (ASSAM) in Turkey last Friday. The Pak Air Chief said that Pakistan fully supports Turkey on Cyprus and other regional issues and also stands by Ankara in its war against terrorism.

The Pak Air Chief also lauded Turkey’s support to Azerbaijan during the latter’s conflict with Armenia to liberate territories occupied for nearly 30 years. During his speech, he thanked the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the foreign minister, and the parliament speaker for their supportive statements on the issue of Kashmir at various international forums.

Expressing his views on the defence cooperation between Pakistan and Turkey, the Air Chief underscored the ever-increasing relationship between the two defence industries and termed the bilateral cooperation as “exemplary”. He pointed out that military cooperation must be “built on economic cooperation,” adding that joint projects, exercises, production, training, and technology sharing are leading areas of cooperation between the two countries. Moreover, the Air Chief stressed that in order to cope with contemporary challenges and common interests, both the countries needed to “further strengthen their defence cooperation.”