Turkish president's visit to Pakistan postponed: FO

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ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal on Thursday confirmed that the upcoming visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been postponed for the time being.

During his weekly briefing, Dr Faisal said Pakistan and Turkey have deep brotherly ties and both the countries maintain regular leadership level contacts. He added the visit of the Turkish president has been postponed for the time being and it will be rescheduled.

Responding to a question, the spokesperson said Turkey has remained a victim of terrorism for a long time and we need to recognise its legitimate security concerns in the region.

“The prime minister called the Turkish President and reiterated Pakistan's support and solidarity with Turkey,” Dr Faisal said. “Pakistan continues to support the territorial integrity of Syria and hopes a political solution to the Syrian conflict will be reached at the earliest.”

Reacting to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement about threatening to stop the flow of water to Pakistan, the spokesperson said any attempt by India to divert the flow of western rivers will be considered an act of aggression and it has the right to respond.

“Pakistan has exclusive rights on the waters of three western rivers under the Indus Water Treaty,” Dr Faisal said.

He added such statements coming from the Indian leadership are another glaring example of the fact that Modi government is bent upon making India an irresponsible aggressor state that has no regard for human rights and international obligations.

“Statements such as these should be an eye opener for the world which must realise the extremist government of Modi is a clear threat to peace in South Asia and the World,” he noted.

Condemning the blatant human rights violations in occupied Kashmir, the spokesperson said the humanitarian nightmare in the held valley is worsening with continued military lockdown and complete communications blockade.

This, he said, risks lives of people there. “Eight million people in occupied Kashmir remain cut off from the rest of the world. These inhumane and unilateral actions by India are continuing in spite of international condemnation,” he said.

Dr Faisal further said India, in a state of panic and in the face of international criticism, is falsely trying to claim normalcy whilst continuing with gross human rights violations in the valley.

He added the revocation of special status of the valley has pushed India into the blind alley and it is not finding way to come out of this situation. “World leaders today are demanding the resolution of this festering dispute. The resolution of the dispute lies in the plebiscite as per the UN Security Council resolutions,” he said.

Responding to a question about the Kartarpur corridor, the spokesperson said Pakistan has almost completed work on the corridor.