Daily Times

President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari led a delegation to visit the Embassy of Turkiye and presented a cheque of Rs.4 million to Ambassador Dr Mehmet Pacaci as a token of support for the rehabilitation of earthquake victims of Turkiye.

Speaking at the occasion, Ahsan Bakhtawari said that Pakistan and Turkiye had deep-rooted relations and the Pakistani nation stands in complete solidarity with the brotherly Turkish people in the wake of the unprecedented earthquake that struck it in February 2023, said a news release issued here on Thursday. He said the entire Pakistani nation was saddened over the huge damage and loss of lives caused by the earthquake.

He said that the business community of Pakistan would continue to provide all possible support to the people of Türkiye in the post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction process. Turkiye was one of the best friends of Pakistan, he said, adding it would never forget the support of Turkiye during the earthquake of October 2005 and the devastating floods of 2010 and 2022 in Pakistan. He assured that ICCI would continue to provide more financial support to the people of Turkiye in these difficult times. He also discussed the matters for further improving bilateral trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Turkiye.

Dr Mehmet Paçaci thanked the ICCI delegation for visiting the embassy to express solidarity with the people of Turkiye and provide financial support. He also expressed gratitude to the leadership and the people of Pakistan for extending humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of the massive earthquake in his country. He said that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif was the first foreign leader who visited Turkiye after the devastating earthquake to express solidarity with the people of Turkiye, which showed Pakistan’s love and affection for his country. He said that Pakistan had already sent hundreds of tons of relief goods, including winter tents, clothes, blankets, and food items, to quake-hit areas of Turkiye and was still sending relief goods on a daily basis for which the entire nation of Turkiye is thankful to Pakistan. Senior Vice President ICCI Faad Waheed said that this natural calamity had brought both brotherly countries closer and added that bilateral relations between Turkiye and Pakistan would continue to strengthen day by day.

Vice President ICCI Engr. Muhammad Azhar ul Islam Zafar said that the people of Pakistan consider Turkiye their second home and would always stand by them through thick and thin. Zafar Bakhtawari, Rizwan Chheena, Raja Imtiaz Abbasi, Ch. Javed Iqbal, Muhammad Yahya, Rohail Anwar Butt, Zial ul Haq Abbasi, Shahid Abbasi, Amin ur Rehman, Khalid Mehmood and others also spoke at the occasion and expressed resolved that the Pakistani business community would continue to provide support to the Turkish people in their rehabilitation process.