ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday stressed the need to focus on promoting connectivity among regional countries to help strengthen cultures and economic cooperation, Pakistani state media reported.
He said this while addressing the ‘International Forum on Interrelation of Times and Civilizations — Basis of Peace and Development’ in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The event commemorates the 300th birth anniversary of Magtymguly Faragi, an 18th-century Turkmen thinker, poet and philosopher.
The international gathering is significant since it brings together key figures from various regional nations to discuss peace, development and cultural cooperation.
The event provided an opportunity to interact with the leadership of regional countries that would help strengthen our bonds of friendship, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The President was confident that the discussions and deliberations at this conference will not only honor the memory of Makhdum Gulli, but will also pave the way for new avenues,” the report read.
Pakistan has aimed to enhance its role as a pivotal trade and transit hub connecting the Central Asian republics with the rest of the world, leveraging its strategic geographical position.
The South Asian country has invested in infrastructure projects like roads, railways and pipelines while seeking greater economic connectivity under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative.
President Zardari also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the forum in Ashgabat, where they pledged to further strengthen bilateral ties.
“The informal interaction was held on the sidelines of a two-day international forum ... here in the Turkmen capital,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported, adding, “they emphasized further strengthening of bilateral relationships.”

PESHAWAR/ DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Thousands of people gathered in the Khyber tribal district in Pakistan’s northwest on Friday to attend a three-day grand council organized by the recently banned Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) to address issues in the volatile region, though proceedings were delayed due to insufficient arrangements.
The provincial administration of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) allowed PTM to hold the Pashtun National Jirga after extensive deliberations involving representatives of different political parties a day earlier.
The dialogue over the issue was arranged by KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and took place after federal authorities in Pakistan banned PTM on charges of supporting the Pakistani Taliban militants and promoting anti-state narratives and activities.
The PTM leadership, which has consistently denied these allegations and claims it only advocates for Pashtun rights, said it would proceed with the jirga to discuss security challenges in the province. The group lost three of its supporters in a clash with police on Wednesday while preparing for the ethnic gathering.
“The arrangements were delayed as we had an issue [with the police] some two days ago and faced a crackdown that impeded the preparations,” Zakim Wazir, a member of PTM’s central committee, told Arab News.
“Around 80 camps had to be set up for the jirga, and we were only allowed to do that by the provincial authorities the night before,” he added.
PTM founder Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen also highlighted these challenges while speaking to those attending the gathering.
“The proceedings of the first day will be held tomorrow [Saturday] along with the second day’s proceedings,” he said.
Earlier, the KP administration released a statement saying it had imposed several conditions on PTM before allowing the gathering.
“There will be no anti-state or anti-military slogans during the three-day tribal council meeting,” Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, the KP administration’s spokesperson, said. “No one will also be allowed to raise the flag of any other country.”
Founded in 2014, PTM has long advocated against extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of Pashtuns and other ethnic minorities, for which the state is sometimes blamed, though it has always denied the charge.
The KP spokesperson emphasized that the protection of public life and property, along with the restoration of peace and security in the province, were the top priorities of the provincial administration.