Pakistan extends 'unwavering' support to Turkiye on Cyprus issue

Pakistan fully supports Turkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in Islamabad today.

“Pakistan fully supports the cause of [Turkish Republic of] Northern Cyprus and fully stands by Turkiye on this cause in an unwavering fashion,” Sharif said at a joint news conference in Islamabad with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is on a two-day official visit to Pakistan. He arrived in the Pakistani capital last night after visits to Malaysia and Indonesia.

Sharif said Erdogan is “a very important and highly respected leader of Islamic world.”

“You have also led from the front, speaking for the problems and speaking for the rights of oppressed people, be it people of Gaza, Palestine or Kashmir,” Sharif said. “When you speak, not only millions of people in Islamic world hear you very attentively but the globe hears you when you speak,” he said, lauding Erdogan for “transforming” Turkiye.

The Pakistani premier said Ankara has always stood by the “just cause of the people” of Jammu and Kashmir and “always maintained your stance loud and clear,” adding that he extends his “unwavering” support to Ankara.

Thanking Erdogan for visiting the South Asian nation, his first in five years, Sharif said his government and the people of Pakistan “warmly welcome” him in Islamabad.

READ: Turkiye, Pakistan to establish joint factory for production of KAAN fighter jet