Pakistan and Türkiye have reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing bilateral cooperation in the areas of religious education, welfare projects, and cultural exchanges. The discussions took place during a meeting between Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs, Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, and Türkiye’s Religious Affairs Counselor, Dr. Abdul Rahman Akkoç, at the Turkish Embassy in Islamabad.
Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf highlighted the profound and longstanding brotherly ties between Pakistan and Türkiye, emphasizing that both countries enjoy deep-rooted Islamic solidarity. Expressing satisfaction over the expanding cooperation, he stated, “It brings pleasure to see that our governments are actively promoting bilateral relations in political, economic, religious, and cultural fields.”
Acknowledging Türkiye’s principled stance, Minister Yousaf commended the Turkish government’s strong positions on key issues facing the Muslim Ummah, particularly Islamophobia and its unequivocal support for the oppressed peoples of Kashmir and Palestine.
He also appreciated Türkiye’s proactive approach in deploying a highly-qualified religious counselor to Pakistan, praising the appointment of Dr. Abdul Rahman Akkoç for his extensive scholarly background and expertise in Islamic sciences and memorization of the Holy Quran. “The appointment of such an expert religious counselor represents a commendable step by the Turkish government,” he remarked.
The Minister thanked Türkiye’s Diyanet Foundation for its assistance and ongoing humanitarian initiatives in Pakistan, especially mentioning their contributions in distributing Ramadan aid packages, Qurbani meat distribution, educational support, health services, and the establishment of clean water projects.
Reflecting on past cooperation, Minister Yousaf recalled firsthand witnessing Türkiye’s dedicated humanitarian efforts in the aftermath of the devastating 2005 earthquake, during his tenure as District Nazim of Mansehra. “Türkiye’s sincerity and significant role in relief and rehabilitation work were exemplary,” he stressed.
He further suggested expanding collaboration in addressing the issue of a unified moon-sighting practice among Islamic countries, indicating that joint consultations on such matters would benefit the entire Muslim world.
Counselor Dr. Abdul Rahman Akkoç expressed appreciation for Minister Yousaf’s sincere concern for the welfare and unity of the Muslim Ummah, describing it as an exemplary model. The Turkish diplomat expressed Türkiye’s eagerness to expand and deepen cooperation with Pakistan in religious education, healthcare, charity initiatives, and welfare.
Outlining recent initiatives, Dr. Akkoç said Türkiye’s Diyanet Foundation is actively engaged in numerous charitable activities, including distributing over a thousand school bags for orphaned children, providing one hundred advanced educational scholarships, disseminating literature on the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) life, organizing Ramadan relief packages, managing Eid sacrifice distributions, and ensuring clean water supplies by drilling wells for communities in need.
Dr. Akkoç also announced that Türkiye’s Fatwa Commission plans to visit Pakistan soon to meet local religious scholars and explore areas of further scholarly collaboration between the two countries.
