Academicians, artists, diplomats gather in Pakistan to celebrate 100 years of Republic of Türkiye

KARACHI, Pakistan

Academicians, diplomats, politicians, artists, and journalists gathered in Pakistan's commercial capital Karachi to celebrate 100 years of the Republic of Türkiye.

Organized by the Pakistan Print and Electronic Media Foundation (PPEMF) and the Culture Department of southern Sindh province on Saturday evening, a colorful ceremony was attended by a large number of people, including students from different universities.

Among the attendees were Sindh Culture Minister Syed Junaid Ali Shah, Turkish Consul General in Karachi Cemal Sangu, diplomats of China, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Oman and other countries, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency's Karachi coordinator Halil Ibrahim Barsan, and Home Secretary Sindh Iqbal Memon.

Addressing the ceremony, Shah congratulated the people of Türkiye on the 100th anniversary of the republic, highlighting the "deep-rooted" religious, and cultural ties between Türkiye and Pakistan.

Sangu, in his remarks, noted that the two nations have always stood by each other in every testing moment, whether it was last year's unprecedented floods in Pakistan or the massive earthquakes in Türkiye in February.

Pakistan's former Law Minister Shahida Jamil, in her presentation, titled The Turkic Dimensions, highlighted the footprints of Turkish heritage and culture in the sub-continent dating back to hundreds of years.

Halil Tokar, the president of Yunus Emre Institute Pakistan, in his presentation, traced the centuries-old connection between Turkish and local culture and languages, especially Urdu.