Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday exhorted Turkiye business community to do everything it can to enhance the meager trade of $1 billion to $5 billion in three years as per an agreement signed with the Turkiye government. Addressing a meeting of the Pakistan-Turkiye Business Council in Istanbul on Saturday, PM Shehbaz said that Pakistan currently has a meagre trade volume of $1 billion. He added that they had signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance this trade volume to $5 billion in the next three years. "It is not a big task at all," he said, adding, "Let us resolve that we will do everything to achieve this target in three years, rather double it."

He added that beautiful summaries and feasibilities made all would be of no consequence at all unless it is converted into action through hard work and untiring efforts. Earlier, he said that terrorists have no religion and belong to no one country as he condoled with Turkish people over the recent terror attacks. "Turkiye has been the victim of terrorist attacks like Pakistan," he said, adding that Pakistan shares Turkyie's pain. Shehbaz said that he was very happy to note that the Turkiye authorities were able to haul up the terrorists within no time which sends a very strong message to all and sundry that Turkishs strength to fight this menace cannot be taken lightly.

"We share your grief and share your pain as Pakistan suffered for long years at the hands of these terrorists," he said. "As we all know and agree that terrorists have no religion, they are not human beings and they belong to no one's land," he said, adding, "They are terrorists, they are cruel and they are barbaric." He urged the entire peace-loving community to act together against terrorists with great strength and effort.

"Pakistan paid huge sacrifices to fight this menace and to a very large extent they have been defeated," he said, adding that for this hard fought peace, they paid huge cost in the form of sacrifices from the armed forces including officers, sepoys, law enforcers, common man, doctors, mothers, children, paid huge sacrifices to defeat them. He recalled having broad talks with Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on expanding and deepening ties between the two nations. On the launch of the third MILGEM Corvette Class ship, PNS Khaibar on Friday, Shehbaz said that this was an opportunity to enhance defence cooperation between the two countries.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP