Qureshi flays Hollander blasphemous contest

ISLAMABAD: In a telephone conversation with Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Tuesday, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi spoke about the strong resentment in Pakistan, like the rest of the Islamic world, on the news of an international competition on caricatures of prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) being organised in Holland.

According to an official statement, both leaders agreed to raise the issue with the Dutch government with one voice, under the banner of the organisation of Islamic cooperation (OIC).

Qureshi asserted that Pakistan and Turkey will continue to play a coordinated role to promote peace and stability in the region.

Çavuşoğlu expressed strong desire of the Turkish government to strengthen the existing close and friendly relations between the two countries and held that both brotherly countries enjoy exemplary fraternal relations based on common faith, values, culture, civilisational linkages, history, mutual trust and support.

He conveyed the best wishes of the people of Turkey for the continued peace, progress and prosperity of the Pakistani people in guidance of the new visionary leadership in the country.

Reciprocating the warm sentiments, foreign minister Qureshi stated that over the years, Pak-Turkey relations have transformed into a mutually beneficial strategic partnership.

He expressed his keen desire to work closely with his Turkish counterpart to expand bilateral cooperation in all areas, particularly in trade and economic sector.

Turkish foreign minister congratulated Qureshi on the recent election victory and of particularly the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) under the leadership of prime minister (PM) Imran Khan.

He also extended his felicitations to Qureshi on his taking charge of the foreign office (FO).

Çavuşoğlu offered to host the trilateral Afghanistan-Pakistan-Turkey summit in the near future.

Pakistan will soon host the next round of high level strategic cooperation council (HLSCC) at the leadership level.

Both leaders agreed to meet on the sidelines of the united nations general assembly (UNGA) session due in New York.

Qureshi extended an invitation to his Turkish counterpart to visit Pakistan which Çavuşoğlu accepted.