Turkish FM plans visit to Pakistan

As Turkey’s new foreign minister, Ahmet DavutoÄŸlu, plans a trip to the region in the near future, Turkish diplomats are in close touch with the relevant parties about how to improve the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the same official told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.Â

The Turkish military is equally concerned by the situation. Gen. İlker Başbuğ said he wanted to draw the press’ attention to the region, complaining that developments in that part of the world are not being sufficiently covered by the Turkish press.

"There are very serious developments in the region. We are seriously concerned by the developments," he said in a press conference last week. "We hope that the problem’ of Pakistan, which we genuinely consider our brother, will be solved."

Ankara does not share, however, the fear that Islamabad may soon fall to the Taliban, as voiced by some American officials.

There may be just two weeks left to prevent the Taliban from overthrowing Pakistan’s government, Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of American forces in the region, was reported to have said according to the Guardian, a British newspaper.

"Taliban forces will be stopped," said a Turkish diplomatic source. "We don’t yet see the risk of Islamabad falling to the Taliban."

According to Turkish experts, the solution to the problem lies in reversing the radicalism that both Pakistan and Afghanistan have been sliding into since Islamic groups have been encouraged to flourish in the region to stop the spread of communism following Soviet forces’ entry into Afghanistan. Poverty in both countries has been providing a fertile ground for radicalism.

Turkey is therefore advocating a concerted act to fight poverty as well as ignorance, according to a Turkish diplomat who asked to remain anonymous. Turkey is urging the members of the international community to establish a plan for Pakistan’s economic recovery. "Both countries need to be empowered to stand on their feet," said the same diplomat.

As a member of a Pakistan friend group, Turkey pledged $100 million at a conference last month in Tokyo. Turkey will host the next group meeting in a couple of months. Meanwhile, Turkish officials have also been telling their American counterparts that the money allocated by the U.S. government should be used more appropriately. The Turkish side argues that necessary resources should be allocated to reforming education as well as the public sector.

Political instability in the country since the death of Benazir Bhutto has weakened the government’s ability to fight the Taliban. Turkey has called on Pakistan’s political leaders to seek ways to work together. The Turkish government has also been seeking ways to increase cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"Turkey is one of the few countries both Afghanistan and Pakistan trust," said an American official. Trilateral meetings that Turkey has held with Pakistani and Afghan leadership have been one of the few forums in which they have come together, said the same officials. Cooperation mechanisms have been established between the two countries’ armies as well as intelligence agencies during these meetings. Turkey has also been providing assistance to both countries armies.

"The Turkish army, with its experience, can provide training and assistance to the Pakistani army’s fight against the insurgents in the mountains," said an American official.

Meanwhile, thousands of terrified Pakistanis have dodged Taliban roadblocks to flee fighting between the army and insurgents in a northwestern valley, streaming into refugee camps and crowding hospitals with their fatigued and hungry children, Associated Press news agency reported. According to the UN, tens of thousands have fled their homes in recent days from the Swat Valley where a militant-government peace pact collapsed this week.