PM Shehbaz meets Turkish President Erdogan to condole loss of lives in deadly earthquake

ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday hold a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and expressed his heartfelt condolences over the loss of precious human lives in the wake of massive earthquake.

The premier, who was in Turkiye on a two-day visit to express solidarity with the Turkish people, was received upon arrival at the Presidential Palace by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to the PM Tariq Fatemi, and National Disaster Management Authority Chairman Lt Gen. Inam Haider were accompanying the prime minister.

Earlier, PM Shehbaz in a tweet said: “I am leaving for Turkiye with a message of unwavering solidarity and support for our Turkish brothers and sisters from the people and Government of Pakistan.”

“True to the spirit of one nation living in two states, we consider their loss as ours,” he added.

Reports said PM Shehbaz and Erdogan are also scheduled to have a joint visit to the affected region where he is supposed to meet the victims, as tens of thousands turned homeless amid extreme weather conditions. Millions of Turkish people left the southeast region, reports suggest as thousands of buildings become uninhabitable after the worst quakes.

Earlier this month, PM Shehbaz postponed his visit to quake-hit region and visited the Turkish embassy in the country to condole huge loss. The premier also held telephonic conversations with Turkish and Syrian premiers.

PM of late mentioned sparing no effort at all in cooperating with their Turkish brethren in their relief and rehabilitation process. PM told Turkish envoy that Pakistani government and the people of South Asian nation are standing by Turkey in this hour of grief.