Erdogan’s visit to Pakistan further delayed

ISLAMABAD: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Pakistan has yet another time been deferred and it is likely that he would be visiting Pakistan now in third quarter of this year.

It is third deferment of the visit as Prime Minister Imran Khan visited Turkey in the first week of January this year and invited Turkish President for visiting Pakistan. The invitation was accepted by him.

Former State Minster for Interior Sheharyar Khan Afridi in his stay in Istanbul in February last announced that Tayyip Erdogan will visit Pakistan in March but it couldn’t materialise.

Pakistan has to host Pakistan-Turkey High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC) meeting supposed to be held early this year in Islamabad where some significant projects and plans were to be approved. The Turkish President had announced that he would bring a big delegation of investors with him in his visit to Pakistan.

Well placed diplomatic sources told The News/Jang here on Saturday that Turkish President has not given any fresh schedule for his trip to Pakistan although the two capitals are trying very hard to workout dates and details of the visit through diplomatic channels.

President Tayyip Erdogan is in Beijing where he and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan are attending second Belt and Road Forum (BRF), an initiative of China. Interestingly the two leaders are meeting several leaders participating in the forum on brinks of the event but no meeting between Khan and Tayyip Erdogan has officially been scheduled, the sources indicated.

The trilateral meeting on Afghanistan with the participation of Pakistan, Turkey and Afghanistan could also not take place. Turkey had to host it and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was supposed to represent his country. President Erdogan had announced the trilateral meeting in the presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan when he visited Turkey, the sources reminded.

It is unlikely that Turkish President will visit Pakistan in the Holy Month of Ramazan and trilateral will also not be possible during the holy month, the sources said. The diplomatic front will be again active after Ramazan in end of June or beginning of July and the government here will also be free after adoption of the budget proposals from the Parliament by then, the sources added.