Turkiye | Pakistan

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar on Wednesday chaired a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a follow-up to his consecutive visits to the United Kingdom, Turkiye, and the Kyrgyz Republic, where he accompanied the Prime Minister for the SCO Council of Heads of State Summit.

Pakistan, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia will form political and military mechanisms under a defence pact signed between the regional powers last week, Turkiye’s defence ministry said on Thursday, adding the alliance would also deepen defence industry cooperation. The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement was signed last week as the Middle East grapples with fallout from the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has dragged in regional players and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. At a weekly briefing in Ankara, the ministry said the mechanisms would include the three countries’ defence ministers, foreign ministers, and military chiefs. It added that the joint military exercises were also being planned under the pact, while cooperation could include joint production and technology sharing in the defence industry. The remarks come a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he hoped more countries would join the agreement. “Our vision for it is not limited to the three countries,” th...

Spy agency doubted threat to US president in Turkiye that prompted extraordinary secret flight

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump secretly flew out of Turkiye last month on a smaller plane than previously known due to an assassination threat from Iran, the Washington Post reported on Monday. According to an anonymous US official who spoke to the Post, Trump boarded an Air Force One jet in Ankara on July 8, but then moved into a catering container attached to the plane. The container then ferried him to a smaller C-32A aircraft that flew him to Britain, while media and some officials were led to believe Trump was still on the bigger jet. The Iranian threat had previously been reported by US media as the reason that Trump did not fly out of Turkiye aboard the new Boeing 747-8, gifted to the United States by Qatar, which he had used to fly into the country. Trump, who was in Ankara for a Nato summit, said at the time he would be taking the older Boeing 747 so that members of the US military at an airbase in Britain could tour the new plane. However, several US media outlets, including the New York Time...

• MBS, Shehbaz, Erdogan sign Makkah Joint Defence Agreement to boost ‘collective deterrence against any aggression’ • PM hopes accord will serve as ‘shield of peace’; Erdogan says alliance is open to other friendly nations • Saudi minister insists new bloc no threat to ‘any country’ ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on Friday signed a joint defence pact in the holy city of Makkah, which empowers member states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all. The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, which seeks to strengthen the collective security of the three states, was signed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince and PM Mohammad bin Salman, and Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Al-Safa Palace. The signing of the agreement was announced by three countries through a joint statement, which was published by Pakis­tan’s Foreign Office (FO) and Saudi Arabia’s official SPA press agency. It said the pact reflected the three countries’ “shared commitment to further...

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye on Friday signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, committing to enhanced collective security, expanded defence cooperation and closer strategic coordination among the three countries.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on Friday signed a joint defence pact in Makkah that empowers member states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all of them. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on Friday signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement aimed at strengthening “collective deterrence against any act of aggression”, the Foreign Office (FO) said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince and PM Mohammed bin Salman, and Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the pact after the “Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence” was held at the Al-Safa Palace. The agreement reflects the three countries’ “shared commitment to further strengthening their collective security and to promoting peace, security, and stability in the region and beyond, in pursuit of a secure and prosperous future”, the FO said. “The agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states s...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar on Thursday held a telephone conversation with Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss the worsening situation in Palestine and recent regional developments.

Pakistan and Turkiye have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in social protection, family welfare and poverty alleviation, besides expediting the finalisation of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the relevant ministries of the two countries.

Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday arrived in Turkiye on a two-day official visit, state media reported. Citing security sources, state-run Radio Pakistan reported that CDF Munir received a “warm welcome” upon his arrival in Turkiye. During the visit, the CDF will hold “important” meetings with Turkiye’s military and political leadership, the security sources added. State-run Pakistan TV and APP also reported CDF Munir’s arrival in Turkiye and his expected meetings with the Turkish military and political leadership. Last month, General Metin Tokel, commander of the Turkish Land Forces, met CDF Munir during his visit to Pakistan. The two had discussed regional security dynamics and avenues for enhanced bilateral defence cooperation, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. General Tokel had also met with the naval and air chiefs during the visit. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid a visit to Turkiye, focused on economi...

Islamabad - Turkiye’s Minister for Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Gökta called on Minister for Human Rights Azam Nazeer Tarar in Islamabad on Sunday.

ANKARA: Turkiye’s health ministry has fined more than 100 obstetrician-gynaecologists for carrying out Caesarean sections, suspending them from duty and forcing them to undergo training, BirGun newspaper reported on Saturday. The country has the highest rate of C-section births among the OECD’s 38 nations, according to the last available data from 2023, with around 615 such procedures out of every 1,000 live births that year. Medical professionals have said C-sections were more time-efficient for medical staff — 30 minutes, versus 12 hours for a traditional delivery — and lowered the risk of legal action over complications, ensuring a guarantee of safety for both the physician and the women. Last year, the Turkish government began a campaign to tackle falling birthrates under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “Decade of the Family” initiative that has seen it move to exert greater control over how women give birth. Erdogan, a pious Muslim who is pushing for women to have so-called natural births, wants to addr...

United States President Donald Trump unexpectedly left Turkiye on Wednesday aboard an older Air Force One rather than the newly renovated Qatari-donated jet that brought him there, but later boarded the new plane in Britain for the flight to Washington. The trip to Turkiye for the Nato summit, the first international travel for the new plane, took place as hostilities escalated with Iran, a country that borders Turkiye. The unexpected plane switch followed months of scrutiny over the luxury gift intended to serve as a temporary replacement while Boeing struggled to deliver long-delayed next-generation Air Force One planes. Critics questioned the cost, security and pace of the retrofit. Trump said on Truth Social that he would use an older baby blue Air Force One plane “for old time’s sake” to fly from Ankara to RAF Mildenhall in Britain while the new plane stopped at the same base so US service members stationed there could tour the aircraft. Video late on Wednesday showed Trump boarding the new Air Force One...

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would lift sanctions on Turkiye and make a decision on a potential sale of F-35 stealth jets to Ankara, as Nato leaders unveiled arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars to drive home the message that they are heeding US calls to spend more to defend Europe. Leaders were convening for a summit in the capital Ankara, hoping to project unity after another bruising year, in which the Iran war once again exposed cracks in the alliance that has underpinned Western security since the end of World War Two. In a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump announced, “We’re going to be taking the sanctions off,” referring to the measures imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). In 2020, Washington imposed CAATSA sanctions on Turkiye over its acquisition of Russian S-400 air defence systems. It also removed Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet program, a move Turkiye called unjust and illegal. Trump was expected to thr...

NATO unveils billions of dollars in arms deals in Turkiye ahead of Trump summit and defence spending talks

US President Donald Trump’s visit to Ankara for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) summit could help secure Turkiye’s acquisition of dozens of fighter jet engines, but won’t resolve the F-35 dispute that has soured ties, analysts say. The July 7-8 summit, which is being hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will bring together leaders from the military alliance’s 32 member states. Last month, Trump promised to make Erdogan “very happy” when asked about Turkiye looking to secure F110 jet engines and being readmitted to the F-35 fighter jet programme. Analysts said it would likely mean freeing up fighter jet engines Turkiye wants to use in its flagship KAAN stealth fighter project. “It’s likely to be the green light for the F110 GE engines for the KAAN fighter plane, about 40 of them. There had been obstacles to that supply and very possibly those are now being removed,” Sinan Ulgen, director of the Istanbul-based Edam think tank, told AFP. “Turkey has produced a couple of prototypes which are fl...

ISTANBUL - Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday left for Pakistan after completing his two-day visit to Turkiye.

Pakistan and Turkiye on Saturday resolved to further strengthen their bilateral cooperation across multiple sectors with a special emphasis on trade, investment, energy, petroleum exploration, minerals, and information technology, while reaffirming their commitment to realize the mutually agreed trade target of USD 5 billion.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Istanbul on Friday for an official visit to Turkiye at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said a statement by the government. The premier, earlier today attended the funeral Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in a US-Israeli strike on February 28. After paying his respects, the prime minister departed for Istanbul. At Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, the premier was received by Turkish Minister of Trade Professor Dr Omer Bolat, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Turkiye Dr Yusuf Junaid, and officials from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Pakistani embassy. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar are accompanying the prime minister. PM Shehbaz and President Erdogan are expected to hold detailed discussions on all aspects of bilateral relations, with a particular focus on enhancing cooperation in trade and investment, added the statement. The...

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Iran and Turkiye from July 3 to July 5, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Tahir Andrabi confirmed on Thursday. Addressing a weekly briefing, Andrabi said that during his visit to Iran, the premier would participate in the funeral of late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in US-Israeli strikes on February 28. The FO spokesperson said PM Shehbaz will travel to Iran first for Khamenei’s funeral. Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, cabinet members and senior officials will accompany the premier on his visit. “The prime minister will convey condolences on behalf of the people and government of Pakistan to the Iranian leadership and the bereaved families while reaffirming solidarity with the brotherly nation in their hour of profound grief,” he said. PM Shehbaz will then visit Istanbul at the invitation of Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Andrabi said. He added that the premier will “hold discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral re...