Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari received a telephone call from Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavusoglu, who felicitated him on assuming office as Foreign Minister of Pakistan.
The Turkish foreign minister also congratulated Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Eid-ul-Fitr. The two discussed further strengthening of close fraternal cooperation between the two countries.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari thanked his counterpart Mevlüt Çavusoglu for Turkey’s support for Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue.
They agreed to celebrate the completion of 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
Turkey’s Position On Kashmir
In August 2019, India abrogated Article 370 of its Constitution.
Since then, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been one leader who had consistently brought up the issue at major international forums, along with Pakistan. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in September 2019, he had criticized India’s move to scrap the article and had called for a dialogue to solve the issue of Kashmir.
During his state visit to Pakistan in early 2020, Erdogan had promised Pakistan of Turkey’s support on the Kashmir issue, calling it a matter of concern for both countries. He had, in fact in his address to the Pakistani Parliament compared the “struggle of Kashmiris” with that of his country against the foreign powers during World War I.
Growing Pakistan-Turkey Ties
In 2020, Pakistan had invited the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) to help boost tourism in the Gilgit Baltistan region in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan stated that it is working on establishing economic zones in the area, which are part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Under the CPEC, a vast network of roads, rails and pipelines are expected to connect China’s Xinjiang province to the Pakistani port at Gwadar. The region of Gilgit Baltistan is crucial to the development of the CPEC. TIKA is expected to commence development projects in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, along with the areas of Gilgit Baltistan.
In fact, India has been keeping a close watch over the activities of Turkey in the greater Kashmir region. Last year, based on an intelligence report, India had accused the Turkish embassy in New Delhi of collaborating with some NGOs, sending Indian activists to Turkey on exposure trips and encouraging such people to provide anti-India statements.
Turkey is also enhancing its close military ties with Pakistan. In February 2021, Turkey held a welding ceremony of the third ship of the MILGEM-class corvettes for the Pakistan Navy at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard (INSY). The contract for four MILGEM class corvettes for the Pakistan Navy was signed in 2018 with the Turkish state-owned defense contractor ASFAT Inc.
The concurrent transfer of technology includes the construction of two corvettes at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard (INSY), and the remaining two at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KS&EW).