'Erdogan has courage to raise voice for deprived'

By Gulsum Incekaya and Halis Akyildiz

ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has the courage to raise his voice for the oppressed and has the support of the entire nation, a visiting Pakistani minister said Thursday.

“Your president has the because behind him there is a resilient nation by the name of Turkey,” Shehryar Khan Afridi, the state minister for interior, told a conference at Istanbul's Sabahattin Zaim University.

“He can raise his voice; he can speak for the deprived ones,” Afridi said.

Stating that it was his desire to meet Erdogan, he said, every Pakistani sees him as "the father of the Muslim ummah [community]".

Afridi praised Ankara’s efforts in aiding Syrian people in Turkey.

“Your [Turkey's] humanitarian approach has been approved by one and all. You are welcoming everyone without thinking that how I am going to survive.”

Turkey hosts more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world, who fled civil war in their country since 2011.

Muslim unity

He noted that if Muslims get on one page, they would counter negative propaganda about Islam all over the world.

In this regard, Turkey’s Ankara and Istanbul, and Pakistan’s Islamabad and Lahore, among others, play a crucial role, according to Afridi.

“Hopefully, with every passing day, the myth and misperception of Islam will vanish,” he said.

Highlighting that Pakistan had entered a new phase with Imran Khan’s election as prime minister in August 2018, he added: “Pakistan is going to become a country which will be given respect by one and all, and we will become a model country for the entire global community.”

He said the “ultimate objective” of the present government of Pakistan was human dignity.

“Irrespective of your color, religion, sect, your background, […], any belief of any individual will be respected and will be treated equally,” Afridi said.

US accusation

Speaking about U.S. accusations that the Pakistani prime minister was a Taliban apologist, Afridi said this was because of his stance on 9/11, referring to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S.

“He propagated loud and claimed that drone attacks [on Afghan people] are not a solution; through you cannot win hearts,” Afridi said.

He added that the U.S. President Donald Trump and his teams were always targeting leaders who are successful in their countries, including Turkey and Pakistan.