Turkey praised for supporting Kashmir cause

Islamabad: Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan has praised the Turkish government and people for supporting Kashmir cause.

He also said while Pakistan and Turkey had strong ties, hearts of the people of the two countries beat together, who had stood together in every test of time. The AJK president was addressing a function organised by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and Kashmir Education Foundation here.

The TIKA provided the assorted furniture to two schools of the Kashmir Education Foundation in Banjosa and Rawalakot, AJK. The schools have enrolled over 500 students.

The AJK president thanked the people and government of Turkey, especially President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for being the first to reach out to the people of earthquake-hit areas in 2005, and contributing to rescue, relief and rehabilitation work under the unprecedented spirit of Islamic fraternity and love.

He said the Turkish people had established universities, hospitals and a number of educational institutions in the liberated territory, and President Erdo an had personally visited Azad Jammu and Kashmir – a testament to the close bilateral ties.

Sardar Masood also thanked the Turkish president for supporting the Kashmir cause. Welcoming cooperation between TIKA and the Kashmir Education Foundation, the AJK president expressed the hope that both the organisations would jointly play an active role in the promotion of quality education in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

He invited Turkish Ambassador Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul and his wife to pay a visit to Rawalakot and witness the education being imparted in a local school. The function was also addressed by the Turkish ambassador in Pakistan and the TIKA country director.