Erdogan praises Pakistan's anti-terrorist FETO closures

ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s resolve in dismantling the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) networks was welcomed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday.

Underlining Turkey and Pakistan’s determination to fight terrorism, Erdogan said: “It is necessary to dismantle this evil network. The terrorist organization is a threat to the security of Pakistan.”

Ahead of Erdogan’s two-day visit to Pakistan, the government moved to close a network of schools run by FETO and deport its foreign teachers in a move welcomed by Ankara, which says the group orchestrated the July 15 defeated coup in Turkey that resulted with 248 deaths.

“I am thankful for the solidarity clearly demonstrated by the Pakistani administration on this matter and for their decisive stance against this organization,” he told a news briefing following a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. “Turkey and Pakistan have always stood side by side.”

Referring to the wider terror threat, he added: “We are not forsaking Pakistan and we remain supportive of Pakistan on the basis of [shared] experiences. Without international cooperation we cannot reach a solution.”

Erdogan went on to attack Pakistani newspaper columnists’ “naive” comments about FETO. “They are not welcome,” he said.

Turning to Kashmir, the Muslim-majority territory divided between Pakistan and India, the president called for a “resolution based on dialogue between Pakistan and India in line with UN resolutions and the demands of the Kashmiri people should be considered.

“As a president and a term president of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, we are determined to continue our support.”

Recapping talks with Erdogan, Sharif said the pair had decided to “form a strategic partnership on our special relations” with emphasis on economic projects.

“We agreed to create a solid bedrock for bilateral relations in trade, investment and the economy,” Sharif said. “In this regard, we also agreed to implement the process for a free trade agreement before 2017.”

In a later address to a joint session of parliament, the president tackled the dangers posed by extremist groups in the Middle East and wider world.

“Nowadays, we are seriously fighting Daesh inside and outside the country, in Syria and Iraq as well,” he told lawmakers. “We are committed to combating [terrorism] fearlessly and tirelessly.

“For this organization has nothing to do with Islam. No one can damage Islam as they do.”

He added: “Terror organizations provoke differences and divisions among Muslims to get support from the ground. We should wipe out all types of exploitative methods of discrimination, including sectarianism and ethnic separatism.”

Erdogan blamed the West for Daesh terrorism. “The West stands by Daesh right now,” he said. “We found the weapons used by Daesh are Western made. All this is done against the Islamic world.”

Trade between the two nations would soon rise to $1 billion a year, he said. For the first nine months of 2016 the volume was $457 million.

Reporting by Yusuf Hatip, Mumin Altas, Yildiz Nevin Gundogmuş, Enes Kaplan; Writing by Ahmet Sait Akcay