Ambassador Ihsan Mustafa Yordakul hosted a large reception on the lush grounds of his residence in the Diplomatic Enclave on the occasion of the 95th Republic Day of Turkey.

The chief guest on the occasion was Pervez Khattak, federal minister for defence, with senior military officers and politicians from the current and former governments.

In his speech, Ambassador Yordakul underlined the close cooperation between Turkey and Pakistan. “Turkey regards Pakistanis as its brothers and will always support it in international forums”, he said, and mentioned in particular the Kashmir issue.

Mr. Khattak also spoke about the special relationship between the two countries and mentioned President Arif Alvi’s visit to Turkey to take part in the national day celebrations. He also recalled that President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey had spoken three times at the Pakistan parliament, a record number for a foreign dignitary.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2018