03 January 2019•Update: 03 January 2019
By Nazli Yuzbasioglu
ANKARA
Turkish ambassador to Islamabad on Thursday said Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Ankara would further strengthen ties and brotherhood between the two countries.
Khan has embarked on a two-day visit to Turkey at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Two countries have historical relations and this visit would further strengthen ties and brotherhood between Islamabad and Ankara,” Turkish Ambassador to Pakistan Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul told Anadolu Agency.
“In addition to bilateral political, commercial and economic relations, we look forward to regional and global developments, especially the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan will be discussed during the ” Yurdakul said.
“Satisfying level in political relations should be reflected in commercial and economic areas. Our relations are not only brotherly but mutually beneficial as well,” he said.
"Those agreements we sign for Attack and Tactical Reconnaissance (ATAK) helicopters and corvettes are only the beginning of defense industry cooperation between the two countries,” the ambassador added.
He said of education will be improved after Turkiye Maarif Foundation takes control of schools in Pakistan that were linked to Terrorist Organization (FETO).
At the end of December, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had ordered the government to declare the FETO as a terror group and to ban its affiliated schools in the country.
The high court ordered the transfer of FETO’s "all movable and immovable assets," schools, colleges, education centers and other similar entities to the Turkiye Maarif Foundation.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, in Turkey, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.
In October, Pakistan Navy commissioned a 17,000-ton fleet tanker it has built in collaboration with a Turkish defense contractor, STM.
Pakistan is set to receive 30 T129 ATAK helicopters from Turkey under a deal finalized in July this year.
The helicopters, specifically designed for attack and reconnaissance, will be delivered gradually over five years.
Ankara is, meanwhile, buying MFI-17 Super Mushshak aircraft from Pakistan besides upgrading three Pakistani submarines and jointly building a fleet tanker.
In July this year, Ankara won a multibillion-dollar tender to supply four corvettes to Pakistan Navy -- a deal dubbed as the biggest export for Turkey’s defense industry in history.
