ASTANA: President Mamnoon Hussain and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan Sunday agreed that Afghan issue could not be resolved without Pakistan.
Both the leaders expressed these views at a meeting in Astana on the sidelines of the first summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on science and technology, says a Foreign Office statement issued in Islamabad.
President Mamnoon said Pakistan had taken extraordinary steps for regional peace and security and had faced the biggest loss in its fight against terrorism.
President Erdogan lauded Pakistan’s efforts and sacrifices for regional stability and reiterated his support to Pakistan saying that services of the Pakistan’s security forces and the people against terrorism were historical and must be acknowledged.
Turkish president thanked the people and the government of Pakistan for extending support to their Turkish brethren at the time of an abortive attempt of military coup.
During the meeting, both the leaders also discussed the plight of Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar and resolved to raise the issue at every platform in the world.
The Turkish president appreciated Pakistan for whole-heartedly supporting the first OIC summit on science and technology and hoped that the summit would be an important milestone in promoting science and technology in the Muslim Ummah. He also praised Pakistan’s key contributions as the Chair of the COMSTECH.
Published in Daily Times, September 11th 2017.
