ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Ministry confirmed on Friday that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif will visit Turkey next week – his first visit to Ankara after taking over the top post last month.
FO spokesman Asim Iftikhar, in response to a question during his weekly press briefing, said: “The Prime Minister will be visiting Turkey next week, and we will share with you more details about the elements envisaged, specific elements and engagements during this visit.” . ”
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Turkey on a two-day visit in January 2019, where he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior government officials in Ankara.
PM Shahbaz made two foreign visits this month to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) respectively after taking office on April 12, as he sought to strengthen bilateral ties with the oil-rich states.
Following the prime minister’s visit, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told Reuters this week that the kingdom was finalizing an extension of the $3 billion deposited to Pakistan.
Pakistan is in dire need of external finance, hurt by high inflation, less than two months of imports in reserves and an increasingly weak currency.
Other overseas affiliations
On other foreign events, the spokesperson said that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari visited Davos, Switzerland on May 23-26 to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, which was accompanied by Minister of State for External Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar.
He said that on the sidelines of the event, there were bilateral meetings with Foreign Ministers – Climate Change Minister Sherry Rahman and Khar – Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Pekka Havisto, Foreign Minister of Finland, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Orescu, Saudi Foreign Minister. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and others.
A Foreign Office spokesman said that ahead of Davos, at the special invitation of State Counselor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Bilawal visited China – his first bilateral foreign visit since assuming office last month – on May 21-22, abroad. Office spokesman said.
Yasin Malik’s sentence condemned
Beginning his press conference, the spokesperson rejected the malafide conviction and sentence of Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik in a highly suspicious and deliberate case registered under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Gave. Till 2017.
The spokesperson said the Indian In-charge d’Affaires (Cd’A) in Islamabad was summoned to the Foreign Office on May 25 and conveyed Pakistan’s strong anger at the highly reprehensible punishment of Malik.
Earlier in the week, in a strong statement, External Affairs Minister Bilawal condemned the wrongful conviction of Yasin Malik by an Indian court and demanded his immediate and immediate release.
The External Affairs Minister has also written letters to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bache Lett and OIC Secretary General Hisen Brahim Taha, apprising them of the dire human rights and humanitarian situation in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK). In particular, the External Affairs Minister expressed serious concern over the false conviction of Hurriyat leader Yasin Malik.
Iftikhar said, “India should not keep any illusions. Pakistan will continue to raise its voice to express its concerns and will continue to highlight the blatant excesses being committed by India against the Kashmiri people and their political leadership in the IIOJK.” “