Turkish President Erdogan’s visit to Pakistan postponed

Islamabad: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s anticipated visit to Pakistan has been postponed, Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said on Thursday, hours after a Turkish diplomat tweeted about the matter.

It had earlier been reported that the Turkish President would pay an official visit to Pakistan on October 23 to cement relations between the two countries and extend full support to Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue, the Dawn reported.

The Foreign Office spokesperson added that a new date for the visit is yet to be determined.

While Faisal did not provide any reasons for the postponement, Turkey is currently occupied with a military offensive in Syria which has raised tensions with Washington and other Western nations.

US Vice President Mike Pence, heading a US delegation that includes Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien, is set to arrive in Turkey on Thursday.

Last week, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had telephoned Turkish President Erdogan to discuss matters of mutual interest.

According to Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Imran had called Erdogan to exchange views on recent developments and apprised the latter that Pakistan fully understood Turkey’s concerns relating to terrorism.

The prime minister had said that, as ever, Pakistan stood in full support and solidarity with Turkey.

“We pray that Turkey’s efforts for enhanced security, regional stability and peaceful resolution of the Syrian situation are fully successful,” Imran had told his counterpart.

Published on: Oct 17, 2019 at 17:04 IST

IANS