Pakistan was the first country to stand by Turkish President Erdogan when he was nearly ousted from power in a coup attempt allegedly engineered by the US-based cleric Fethullah Gullen. In his address to the joint session of parliament here on Thursday, he expressed his heartfelt thanks for the support on that "second liberation of Turkish people". He also cautioned the host nation against "potentially harmful" presence of the Fethullah Gullen's terror organisation Feto - an outfit he equated with al Qaeda and Daesh. "I would like to state once again that Feto is a bloody terrorist organisation posing a threat not only to Turkey, but to all countries in which it operates." To this then he added that it operates from the United States, thereby implying that the terrorist entities enjoy support of the West. And, as if the government of Pakistan knew what he would call upon, just on the eve of President Erdogan's visit it ordered deportation of all Turkish teaching staff working in the Pak-Turk schools, an action he openly appreciated. If there is resentment among some quarters over this hasty action the Turkish leader mollified by offering "good care of those schools," and also offered some 500 PhD scholarships. Given the huge setback these schools are going to suffer in the wake of sudden departure of the teaching staff it is our hope that their replacements won't take long to materialise.
Turning to what concerns Pakistan President Erdogan also touched upon Kashmir, Afghanistan and Islamabad's lingering endeavour to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Relations between Turkey and Pakistan are of an "exclusive nature far beyond diplomatic contacts," he said, recalling how closely the Pakistani nation rendered support and assistance during the war of Dardanelles and generously helped his country in the 1999 earthquake. On Kashmir, he called upon Pakistan and India to find a solution to Kashmir issue "through direct dialogue", but keeping in view the demands of the Kashmiri people. But mindful of India's atrocities he made it clear that "we are keeping a sharp eye on tensions along the Line of Control and loss of life." But what may have looked a bit out of blue was the President Erdogan's call for productive relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Early next month, the 'Heart of Asia: Istanbul Process' conference on Afghanistan, a Turkish initiative, is being held in Amritsar and Pakistan is committed to attending it despite rising tensions between it and India. Maybe, Ankara has something in hand to use this moot to help kick-start the stalled intra-Afghan peace process. The Pak-Afghan co-operation, he said, is "indispensible not only for peace and security of the region, but also for economic potential of this region and for carrying out important infrastructural projects." If India is still waiting at the door of the NSG for membership this too is because of Turkey and some other friendly countries of Pakistan who insist that before the membership is granted to India the organisation should develop a criterion-based approach. NSG works by consensus, therefore you cannot admit a non-signatory NPT India without offering the same concession to Pakistan.
Of course, the Feto mischief dominated the President Erdogan's two-day visit, but there were also fruitful exchanges of views between the Turkish business delegation and their Pakistani counterparts in the framework of a roundtable conference. Addressing them, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he wants to finalise and sign a free trade agreement before the New Year, and thus turn the current relationship into what he called strategic relationship, mainly by focusing on economic dimension. To this the Turkish president responded by expressing determination to increase the volume of bilateral trade to $1 billion as early as possible. The two of our countries should "walk into the future in accordance with win-win principle." He urged upon the Turkish business community to invest in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects of Pakistan. Given that over some time, now the indicators are that Turkish people are not much enamored of the prospect to join the European Union, and given that under the leadership of President Erdogan Turkey is also turning to its south and east there is every reason that in times to come Turkish presence in this region would acquire a much higher visibility. Rightly then there is the hope and desire that relationship between Pakistan and Turkey acquires more solidity embodying active co-operation in both socio-political and economic fields.