Discuss historic Pakistan and Turkey bilateral relations beyond the areas of socio-economic and strategic realms. Explain its geopolitical ripple effects in the Himalayas, the Arabian Peninsula, and the South Caucasus.

Introduction

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk set the guiding principle of Turkish foreign policy in 1931: "Peace at home, peace in the world." The friendship between Pakistan and Turkey has rested on a similar idea of mutual security and goodwill, but its roots go far deeper than diplomacy. Long before Pakistan was born, the Muslims of the subcontinent stood by the Turks in their hour of need, and the Turks have never forgotten it. Today the relationship covers trade and defence, but its real strength lies in faith, history, culture and the hearts of the two peoples. That closeness also sends ripples far beyond the two countries: to Kashmir and the Himalayas, to the Gulf and to the South Caucasus.

Overview and history

During the Khilafat Movement (1919–1924), the Muslims of British India campaigned to protect the Ottoman Caliphate and sent money to the Turkish national struggle during the War of Independence. Turkey recognised Pakistan soon after independence in 1947, and the two signed a Treaty of Friendship in 1951. They were allies in the Baghdad Pact (1955), later CENTO, and founded the Regional Cooperation for Development (1964) with Iran, which became ECO in 1985. Turkey supported Pakistan in the wars of 1965 and 1971, and Pakistan backed Turkey on Cyprus in 1974. In 2009 the two set up a High-Level Cooperation Council, upgraded to the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC), which is chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the President of Turkey.

Relations beyond the socio-economic and strategic realms

1. Shared faith and civilisation.

Both nations are overwhelmingly Muslim and share the heritage of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals and the Ottomans, who drew on common Turco-Persian traditions. This shared identity gives the relationship a warmth that ordinary diplomacy cannot create. (Reference: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, Pakistan-Türkiye relations brief.)

2. The memory of the Khilafat Movement.

Turkish leaders regularly recall the gold, jewellery and money that Muslim women and men of the subcontinent donated during the Turkish War of Independence. President Erdoğan referred to this support in his address to Pakistan's Parliament in February 2020. (Reference: Address of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the joint sitting of Parliament, Islamabad, 14 February 2020.)

3. Language and literature.

The word Urdu itself comes from the Turkic word ordu, meaning army or camp, and Urdu contains many Turkish words. The two peoples share the poetry and Sufi heritage of Maulana Rumi, revered in both countries. (Reference: Oxford English Dictionary, etymology of "Urdu"; Konya Mevlana Museum.)

4. Iqbal and Turkey.

Allama Iqbal wrote about the Turkish struggle and the Balkan wars, and the Turkish government honoured him with a symbolic grave beside Rumi's tomb in Konya. Iqbal remains a shared cultural icon. (Reference: Iqbal Academy Pakistan; Konya Metropolitan Municipality, Iqbal memorial at the Mevlana complex.)

5. Humanitarian solidarity.

Turkey sent rescue teams and aid after the 2005 earthquake and the floods of 2010 and 2022, and Pakistan sent rescue teams, relief goods and donations after the February 2023 earthquakes in Turkey. (Reference: AFAD (Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority); NDMA Pakistan press releases, February 2023.)

6. Cultural diplomacy and dramas.

The Turkish drama Diriliş: Ertuğrul, broadcast in Urdu on PTV from 2020, became hugely popular in Pakistan, and joint film and drama projects followed. Such soft power has brought the peoples even closer. (Reference: Pakistan Television Corporation; Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT).)

7. Education and people-to-people links.

Thousands of Pakistani students study in Turkey under Türkiye Scholarships, and the Türkiye Maarif Foundation runs schools in Pakistan. Visa facilitation and direct flights have expanded tourism. (Reference: Türkiye Scholarships (YTB) annual reports; Supreme Court of Pakistan judgment of December 2018 on the PakTurk schools.)

8. Mutual diplomatic support on core causes.

Turkey has repeatedly raised Kashmir at the UN, while Pakistan has backed Turkey on Cyprus and against terrorism, and the two coordinate at the OIC and the UN. (Reference: President Erdoğan's addresses to the UN General Assembly, 2019 and 2020; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan statements.)

Geopolitical ripple effects

1. The Himalayas: Kashmir at the UN.

Turkey's raising of Kashmir at the UN General Assembly after India revoked Article 370 in August 2019 gave Pakistan's position international support and kept the issue alive. (Reference: UN General Assembly records, 74th and 75th sessions, statements of the President of Türkiye.)

2. The Himalayas: India's reaction and new alignments.

India protested Turkey's statements and deepened ties with Turkey's rivals Greece, Cyprus and Armenia, including arms sales to Armenia from 2020. Indian anger grew again after the May 2025 India-Pakistan clash, with calls for boycotts of Turkish goods and tourism. (Reference: Ministry of External Affairs of India statements, 2019–2020; reports in The Hindu and Reuters, May 2025.)

3. The Himalayas: nuclear diplomacy.

Turkey has been among the members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group that opposed a country-specific route for India's membership, arguing that a criteria-based approach should apply to all non-NPT states, including Pakistan. (Reference: reports on NSG plenary meetings, Seoul 2016 and Bern 2017, by Dawn and the Arms Control Association.)

4. The Arabian Peninsula: the Qatar crisis.

When Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt blockaded Qatar in June 2017, Turkey sent troops and food to Qatar, while Pakistan chose neutrality to protect its ties with all Gulf states. (Reference: Turkish Grand National Assembly vote on troop deployment to Qatar, 7 June 2017; Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan statements, June 2017.)

5. The Arabian Peninsula: the KL Summit episode.

Pakistan withdrew from the Kuala Lumpur Summit of December 2019, which Turkey, Malaysia and Iran attended, because Saudi Arabia saw it as a rival to the OIC. This showed that the Pakistan-Turkey partnership must be balanced with Pakistan's Gulf interests. (Reference: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan statement, December 2019; reported by Dawn and Reuters.)

6. The Arabian Peninsula: Turkey-Gulf normalisation helps Pakistan.

President Erdoğan's visits to the UAE and Saudi Arabia in 2022 ended years of rivalry. This normalisation removes pressure on Pakistan to choose between Ankara and Riyadh. (Reference: Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, visits to Abu Dhabi, February 2022, and Jeddah, April 2022.)

7. The South Caucasus: the Pakistan-Turkey-Azerbaijan triangle.

The three countries issued the Islamabad Declaration after their trilateral foreign ministers' meeting in January 2021 and held the joint military exercise "Three Brothers" in Baku in September 2021. (Reference: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, trilateral meeting, 13 January 2021; ISPR, September 2021.)

8. The South Caucasus: Armenia and the Karabakh war.

Pakistan is the only UN member that does not recognise Armenia, in solidarity with Azerbaijan. In the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Turkey and Pakistan backed Azerbaijan, which drew Armenia closer to India and Iran. (Reference: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan statements, October 2020; Trilateral statements of Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Pakistan.)

Conclusion

Allama Iqbal wrote in Tulu-e-Islam: "Aik hon Muslim haram ki pasbani ke liye, Neel ke sahil se le kar ta ba khak-e-Kashghar" (Let the Muslims unite to guard the Sanctuary, from the banks of the Nile to the soil of Kashghar). The bond between Pakistan and Turkey is perhaps the closest expression of that ideal in today's world, resting on faith, history and culture as much as on trade and defence. Its ripples reach Kashmir, the Gulf and the Caucasus, creating both support and new rivalries. Pakistan's task is to deepen this brotherhood while balancing it with its ties to the Gulf, China and its neighbours, so that the friendship serves peace at home and peace in the world.