Pakistan stands with quake-hit Turkey

KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday offered condolences to Turkey after a deadly earthquake hit its Aegean coast.

“My condolences to President Erdogan and the people of Turkey on the loss of precious lives in Izmir earthquake," Khan said in a tweet.

Twenty-six people were killed and more than 830 injured when a magnitude-6.6 earthquake jolted the Izmir province on Friday.

Khan said his country stands with the Turkish nation in this of hour of need.

“We can never forget the way Turkey stood with us when the devastating earthquake hit Pakistan and AJK [Azad Jammu and Kashmir] in 2005," he went on to say. The earthquake in Pakistan left 80,000 people dead.

President Arif Alvi and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also conveyed their condolences.

Alvi said in a tweet: "It is with great sadness that we receive news of earthquake that hit Izmir. Excellency and brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan, please convey sincere condolences from people of Pakistan to families of victims."

Qureshi telephoned his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to extend “deepest” sympathies, and condolences over the loss of lives and devastation caused by the earthquake.

“Pakistan stands ready to help Turkey with urgent relief and assistance in this hour of need," Qureshi tweeted.