ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be visiting Ankara today, Tuesday, to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and discuss bilateral ties and the regional situation, the foreign office said in a statement. 

Pakistan and Turkiye enjoy close cultural, historical and military relations which they are now expanding into the realms of trade, economy and investment as both countries seek to develop their economies.

“During the visit, the Prime Minister will hold extensive discussions with President Erdogan on bilateral relations as well as exchange views on recent developments in the region and beyond,” the foreign office said about Sharif’s visit to Ankara.

“The upcoming meeting represents a continuation of robust dialogue and underscores the shared commitment to further elevate the multifaceted partnership between Pakistan and Türkiye.”

As long-standing allies and strategic partners, Pakistan and Turkiye maintain a tradition of regular exchanges and have institutionalized leadership-level mechanisms such as the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSCC).

The 7th session of the HLSCC was held in Islamabad on Feb 12-13 this year, and co-chair by Sharif and Erdogan.

Pakistan and Turkiye have a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) since August 2022, granting tariff concessions on certain goods, and are working to increase bilateral trade to $5 billion.

While trade has increased in recent years, it is not yet a major trading partner for either country. A Free Trade Agreement is also under consideration.

In 2023, Pakistan’s exports to Turkiye were $352.1 million, and imports stood at $250.8 million. Turkiye’s exports to Pakistan in 2024 included items like lead, meat, and works of art while Pakistan’s exports to Turkiye included explosives, zinc, meat, and fur skins. 

QUETTA, Pakistan: Pakistan extended the detention of the most prominent rights activist of the Baloch minority for 30 days on Monday after she was charged with “terrorism,” “sedition” and “murder,” her lawyer told AFP.
Mahrang Baloch, 32, has long campaigned for the Baloch ethnic group, which claims it is targeted with harassment and extrajudicial killings in the Balochistan province. The state denies involvement. 
She was detained on March 22 for 30 days but “the government has issued another notification ordering to detain her for 30 days more,” her lawyer Imran Baloch said.
A dozen UN experts called on Pakistan in March to immediately release Baloch rights defenders, including Mahrang, and to end the repression of their peaceful protests.
The judiciary declined to rule on her detention a week ago, effectively halting any further judicial appeal and placing the matter solely in the hands of the provincial government of Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan.
Mahrang took part in a sit-in protest in the provincial capital, Quetta, in March to demand the release of members of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, a group she founded to organize protests.
Since 2009, Baloch protesters have gathered in the vast and mineral-rich province — where 70 percent of the population lives in poverty — demanding justice for what they claim are extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary detentions.
Pakistani authorities reject these as “baseless allegations.”
Pakistan has been battling a separatist insurgency in Balochistan for decades, with militants targeting state forces and foreign nationals.
Separatists accusing outsiders of plundering the province’s natural resources launched a dramatic train siege in March in which officials said about 60 people were killed, half of whom were assailants.
Mahrang was barred from traveling to the United States last year to attend a TIME magazine “rising leaders” awards gala.