A weathered friendship it is, a battered one it is not. Mutual respect and decades-long friendship aside, it is the convergence of political and economic issues, that too at such a crucial time, that have become the driving force for our outstanding relations with Turkey. With the distinction of being the only Muslim Nato country, Turkey is in a position to assess the malaise of terrorism from the Wests point of view. Its efforts to play a meaningful role in the Afghanistan endgame again builds on the same, as well as friendship with Pakistan.
President Zardari and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul reiterated their stance on a peaceful transition and durable peace in Afghanistan and bilateral trade relations. Turkey has crucial stakes in the Middle Eastern political imbroglio. It continues to be the facilitator to peace in the region. The tri-partite summit, hosted by Ankara annually since 2007, includes Pakistani and Afghan and its support for the High Council for Peace in Afghanistan attests to its holistic stance on peace. The highly volatile issue of opening an office of representation for Taliban an idea floated by Hamid Karzai needs careful deliberation before it bears any fruit.
The shared goal of peace, stability and integrity in the region can become a reality if economic trepidations are taken off the table. Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad railroad link can provide a stabilising effect to our shaky economy. What can be traded though is a different yet interlinked matter. Human trafficking, smuggling, drug-peddling are some of the activities common around these borders. Curtailing them would be a challenge but one that has to be taken head on. The President has rightly invited Turkish businessmen to invest in Pakistan though the recent debacle of a ship-mounted RPP does not set the most pleasant precedent for business ventures.
Policy experts would say establishing relations is not the toughest task, their maintenance is. Building relations on mutually beneficial ventures is the right way to forge. Clearly, Pakistan and Turkey are doing this very thing.
