Erdogan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Declare Strong Stance on Protecting Palestinian Rights in Gaza

Erdogan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Declare Strong Stance on Protecting Palestinian Rights in Gaza

Islamabad – During his visit to Pakistan on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a strong attack against Israel, spoke in defense of the Palestinians in Gaza, and criticized plans to forcibly displace them from their land.

Speaking at a business forum, Erdogan accused Israel of failing to uphold the ceasefire agreement and warned that the region was being dragged "toward blood and tears again."

Erdogan reiterated his opposition to the proposed plan by former President Donald Trump to relocate Palestinians from Gaza. He said, "Gaza belongs to our Gazan brothers and sisters, and it will remain so forever." He added, "The homeland for which the Palestinians have sacrificed tens of thousands of their children is not up for bargaining."

On Thursday, Erdogan held discussions with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about Gaza and Turkey-Pakistan trade and cooperation. The two leaders talked about strategic cooperation and signed 24 agreements and a memorandum of understanding to boost economic and defense ties.

Sharif stated that the two nations would aim to increase their annual bilateral trade volume from the current $1.4 billion to $5 billion.

Erdogan emphasized that both Turkey and Pakistan are "striving to provide every effort" to support the Palestinians. "We must strengthen this determined stance, especially at a time when there are unlawful and morally unacceptable proposals such as tearing our Gazan brothers from their homeland," he added.

Erdogan also paid tribute to Pakistani security forces and civilians killed in militant attacks, which Pakistan has blamed on the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), whose leaders have been hiding in Afghanistan since the Afghan Taliban seized power in 2021.

In a joint statement, Pakistan and Turkey stressed that "Afghanistan should not become a safe haven for terrorist groups" and called on Kabul to take necessary actions against TTP and the Islamic State group.

In addition to discussions on bilateral relations and the situation in Gaza, the two countries focused on efforts to protect the land rights of Palestinians.