Erdoğan pledges solidarity with Pakistan against terrorism

Erdoğan's remarks came on the second and last day of his official visit to Pakistan as he was addressing members of Pakistan's Parliament. Two houses of the Pakistani Parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate, held a joint session for Erdoğan's address.

Recalling that representatives of all political parties represented at the time in Turkish Parliament had condemned the assassination of the late Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007 in a joint declaration, Erdoğan added that “our people showed full solidarity with the Pakistani people [at the time].”

On Monday, Pakistan killed 19 suspected militants and lost six soldiers while fighting inside a Taliban stronghold close to the Afghan border, as insurgents elsewhere in the frontier region struck back with deadly attacks.

The fierce clashes in South Waziristan and regions further north showed the difficulties facing Pakistan’s stretched army as it seeks to root out militants close to its northwestern border, from where Western officials say they also plan attacks on targets inside Afghanistan.

Militant attacks in Pakistan have surged this month, killing more than 200 people, as the Taliban has tried to avert the army offensive in South Waziristan. The military announced Saturday it had captured the hometown of Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud -- its first major achievement in the offensive.

“I believe that Pakistan will definitely reach success in its struggle against terrorism, which is a joint enemy of humanity. You are not alone in the fight against terror and fundamentalism. What our society tells us about the issue is the best choice is always the middle way, not the extremes. We never favor extremism,” Erdoğan told the Pakistani Parliament, while underlining that Turkey too has suffered much from terrorism.

“Now is the time for unity and togetherness, not for separation. I believe that Pakistan will leave behind its current problems through acting on the basis of national compromise and solidarity,” Erdoğan added.

Earlier on Monday, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari decorated Erdoğan with the presidential medal of merit, Nishan-e-Pakistan, which is the country’s highest civil award, “for being a supporter and defender of Pakistan in the international arena in addition to making contributions to improving political and economic relations between Pakistan and Turkey.”

Erdoğan was accompanied by his wife, Emine Erdoğan, as well as Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, State Minister Zafer Çağlayan, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız and State Minister Mehmet Aydın, during the decoration ceremony.

Ahead of the decoration ceremony, the prime minister also visited Muzaffarabad, a city in the disputed region of Kashmir that was the location of a devastating earthquake in 2005. One year after the earthquake, the Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ) rebuilt public buildings, mosques, sports facilities and a library and handed them over to the Kashmir administration. The rebuilding efforts cost $36 million.

In Muzaffarabad, Erdoğan voiced pleasure over seeing the city maintaining a normal life. In 2005, Erdoğan was the first foreign leader to visit the earthquake-ruined region, paying a visit to the region less than two weeks after the earthquake.

İmam-hatip model against fundamentalism

Religious imam-hatip high schools may offer a model for Pakistan in order to prevent religious fundamentalism, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told Erdoğan during their meeting on Sunday.

In response to Gilani, who expressed a desire to send a delegation to examine imam-hatip high schools, Erdoğan replied affirmatively, adding: “İmam-hatip high schools in our country provide education according to a normal high school curriculum. However, there are certain classes about religion. After high school, students are able to go to any university department they wish.”

Erdoğan, meanwhile, also noted that he studied at an imam-hatip high school and that he later graduated from the economy department at Marmara University.