Pakistan and its new weak civilian government have come under intense scrutiny in the aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist attacks. A forceful and sustained diplomatic campaign led by the External Affairs Ministry in South Block, Delhi has registered some gains. India has been encouraging its powerful allies and the international community to intercede on its behalf and while, verbally at least, the Indian attitude, fury, and statements from the leadership are no less than “mini surgical strikes”, the patience shown has been steady. It goes without saying that the “custodians of democracy” on this side of the border could have done much better. Not only was our initial response inadequate, it was uncoordinated, inept, and a lot was left to be desired.
These are no easy times by any stretch of imagination and we need the help and unqualified support of all our friends during these tough times. Not only should we strengthen our alliances, we must ensure that we receive the unqualified support of our traditional friendship base in the Muslim countries and well wishers in the comity of nations. One such country is Turkey, which has continued to remain a steadfast ally, a reliable partner and a traditional, strong, and great friend whom has stood with Pakistan through thick and thin.
Pepped up diplomatic communiqués, announcements, and press releases aside, Turkey is truly a country with which we can claim to share ancient and deep-rooted civilization links and common bonds of history, culture, geography, traditions, language, and religion, though Turkey can be justly proud of its secular credentials. Perhaps the most important aspect of this relationship, which makes it unique amongst all the other relationships that we enjoy, is the tremendous goodwill between the people of both countries. Turkey’s glorious history and remarkable present achievements remain a source of pride for Pakistanis. The Turks have not forgotten the unanimous, unstinted, and enormous outpouring of emotional, moral, and physical support that was extended by the Muslims of the subcontinent during the Khilafat movement. Women back then had given their jehez towards a greater goal at a time when the Muslims of the subcontinent themselves were battling decisively in their liberation struggle which culminated in the painful birth of this nation. Needless to say, the Turks continued to remain important partners during our freedom struggle. Those sentiments, sense of belonging, and pride in Turkey remain undiminished in the Muslims of this country. The Turks, too, being an ancient civilization, a large, strong country, and a dignified, proud people matched the same fervor, zeal, and outpouring of emotional, moral and material support during the ‘65 war, in other times when the going got tougher for us, and most recently during the catastrophic earthquake that struck Pakistan in 2005. Every Turk, rich or poor, young or old donated generously towards the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the victims – Turkish women literally threw their jewelry to help us.
Relations were given an early boost when the RCD was formed, which later became the present day ECO. The ECO groups important, strategic players of this region and has seen its role expand steadily. It signifies regional, economic integration in which Turkey has a crucial role to play. Not limiting itself to ECO, Turkey is important to us because of its geo-strategic location; it acts as a bulwark against Europe and Asia. It exercises a very high degree of political clout in a region which is our immediate neighborhood and is important to our strategic objectives. It is a rising power and an advanced country, an important Muslim player from an OIC perspective in spite of its secular orientation. It also has influence in Central Asia and is a member of NATO.
Pakistan must reinvigorate and enhance its ties with Turkey, taking them to an entirely new trajectory. We must change the complexion of our ties with this great friend of ours, entering into the strategic fold. Not limiting ourselves to regional groupings and other obstacles, we must capitalize on the immense people-to-people contacts and goodwill that exists in our bilateral relationship. A lot can be achieved in the defense sector as both countries can enter into joint collaborations and exchange expertise, and we should consider purchasing advanced weaponry for our forces from that country. A sustained effort like the one undertaken with China on the economic and trade front must begin with Turkey. Both must take their historic partnership into the new era of globalization with confidence. We can benefit from the Turkish experiences in this regard and cooperate in finished goods and heavy machinery. We stand to gain from studying the counter terrorism methods used by the Turks against the terror unleashed by the PKK. Instead of making empty cries of “democracy” we must learn from the Turkish example of popular, successful democratic practices, since we share a relatively similar democratic history. A whole new cultural front can be opened, one drawing inspiration, mutual adoration and deep respect that both the people have for Rumi and Iqbal. Pakistani soccer stands to learn a great deal by sending our players to play on Turkish teams and football clubs that have brought laurels to that nation in recent years. One such outfit is Galatasaray. Most importantly, while the world and our so-called friends continue to censure us for any global incident of terrorism, it is the Turks who have stood by us like a rock. Not only do the Turks understand our views and version of winning hearts and minds, they support it as is evident from the frequent high level contacts and cooperation in the international fora. There is a well-established norm, which has sadly become practice here, of comparing our relations with the state of relations that our friends enjoy with India. We must relieve ourselves of this siege mentality and see for ourselves the nature, terms of engagement that a country has with us, the significance and important it attaches to its relations with us. This doesn’t mean abandoning all legitimate reservations and concerns we may have over say, Kashmir etc., but this approach calls for a more balanced view of events. However, we can rest assured that Turkey is not a country that will ever abandon Pakistan but will continue to provide invaluable support to us in both good times and bad, and that the mutual love, respect, affection, and sense of sacrifice that Pakistanis have towards this great nation will continue infinitely.
The writer is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at distantcitylights@hotmail.com
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