Başbakan'dan büyükelçilere iftar


AK PARTİ Dışilişkiler Başkanlığı’nın 5. Yabancı Misyon Şefleri ve Büyükelçiler İftarı, renkli görüntülere sahne oldu. Başbakan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’ın katıldığı, Kuran-ı Kerim tilaveti ile başlayan iftarda; konuklara Osmanlı şerbeti eşliğinde Adana mutfağının lezzetleri ikram edildi. İftarda, ünlü müzik grubu Le Trio Cibran ve klarnet sanatçısı Serkan Çağrı da konser verdi.Ak Parti Genel Başkan Yardımcısı Ömer Çelik’in ev sahipliğini yaptığı iftar, önceki akşam, partinin  genel merkez binasının terasında verildi. İftar programı, saat 19.45’te başladı. Programın başlangıcından iftarın açılışına kadar dünyanın en iyi hafızlarından biri olarak kabul edilen Mısırlı Dr. Ahmet Nuayna, Kur’an-ı Kerim okudu.
İlgiyle dinlenen Kuran tilavetinin ardından ezanın okunmasıyla iftar başladı. Konuklara; çorba olarak yöresel analı kızlı çorbası ikram edildi. Sofrada; Ömer Çelik’in Adana milletvekili olması nedeniyle Adana mutfağının lezzetlerinin ağırlığı vardı. Menüde; iftariye ve Adana usulü yeşilliklerin yanısıra içli köfte, güveç, tava, Adana kebabı, halka tatlısı ve taş kadayıf yer aldı. Konuklara; içecek olarak da içinde karanfil de bulunan hoş kokulu Osmanlı şerbeti ikram edildi. Adana kebabının mangalda pişirilmesi sırasında, partinin terasından göğe dumanlar yükseldi. İftarın verildiği terasın manzarasından Sögütözü’nün yeni gökdelenleri görünüyordu.
İftar yemeğinde protokol masasında şu isimler yer aldı: Başbakan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ve  Ak Parti  yöneticileri, Özbekistan Büyükelçisi Ulfat Kadirov, ABD Büyükelçisi Francis Joseph Ricciardone, Japonya Büyükelçisi Kiyoshi Arakiab, AB Büyükelçisi Jean Maurice Ripert, Arap Birliği Büyükelçisi Mohamed El Fatah Naciri, Etyopya Büyükelçisi Mulatu Teshome Wirtu,Pakistan Büyükelçisi Muhammad Haroon Shaukat ve TRT Genel Müdürü İbrahim Şahin.
İftara büyükelçiler ve uluslararası kuruluşların Ankara’daki temsilcilerinin yanısıra Diyanet İşleri Başkanı Mehmet Görmez, Türkiye Hahambaşısı İsak Haleva, İstanbul ve Ankara SüryaniOrtodoks Cemaati Ruhani lideri ve Patrik Vekili Süryani Kadim Metropoliti Yusuf Çetin, Türkiye Ermenileri Patrikliği Genel Vekili Başpiskopos Aram Ateşyan, Türk Süryani Katoliği Vakfı Başkanı Zeki Başatemir ile gazete yöneticilerinin aralarında bulunduğu 244 davetli katıldı.

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Relations with Turkey go beyond Governments: Prime Minister


Islamabad: July 18, 2012:  Prime Minister of Pakistan Raja Pervez Ashraf has said that the mechanism of High Level Cooperation Council between Pakistan and Turkey is geared towards further strengthening the bilateral cooperation and increasing its scope to the benefit of peoples of both countries. Turkey and Pakistan enjoy exemplary relations which go beyond the governments and are rooted in common history, culture and ethos of our people, he stated.
The Prime Minister expressed these views while talking to Mr. Cemil Cicek, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, who called on him at the PM House at the head of an accompanying Turkish Parliamentary delegation.
The Prime Minister said that the special relations between both countries should be sustained through more parliamentary exchanges and people-to-people contacts.
Referring to Prime Minister Erdagon’s address to joint sitting of Parliament in May this year, the Prime Minister said that it reflected the depth of our bilateral relations and was frankly appreciated across political divide.
He noted with satisfaction that Pak-Turkish Friendship Group in Turkish Parliament was the single largest grouping in the Turkish Grand Assembly.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan’s Parliament passed historic legislation during last four and half years, which devolved political, administrative and economic powers to the federating units and addressed long-standing demands of the people.
The Prime Minister thanked the government and people of Turkey for their generous assistance during the earthquake in 2005 and the floods of 2010 and 2011.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Cemil Cicek, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly, described the relations between Pakistan and Turkey as ‘most important one’, which went beyond their cooperation in different areas and was rooted in the collective ethos of people.
He underscored the importance of strengthening rail and air connectivity to further boost cooperation between the two countries.  He said that Pakistan was their second home and they felt immensely pleased while being here.
Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira, Minister for Defence Production Sardar Bahadur Ahmad Khan Sehar, Minister for Narcotics Control Haji Khuda Bux Rajar, Dr Nadeem Ehsan MOS for Overseas Pakistanis, and senior officials of the concerned departments were also present on the occasion.
The Turkish Parliamentary delegation included Members of Turkish Parliament Ozlem Yemisci, Burhan Kayaturk, Co-Chairman of the Turkey-Pakistan Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, Oktay Ozturk, and Mustafa Babur Hizlan, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey.
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President of Pakistan’s meeting with the Speaker of Turkish Grand National Assembly


ISLAMABAD: July 18, 2012: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan highly values its fraternal relations with Turkey and was keen to further strengthen its multifaceted relations with Turkey which had transcended the governmental level and permeated to the level of their peoples.
During his meeting with the Speaker of Grand National Assembly of Turkey Mr. Cemil Çiçek here at Aiwan-e-Sadr today, the President terming Pakistan and Turkey as vibrant democracies said that the Parliaments of the two countries and their members could play a critical role in strengthening and deepening the special relationship.
Mr. Cemil Cicek was accompanied by Özlem Yemişçi, Deputy of Tekirdağ, Mr. Burhan Kayaturk, Deputy of Van and President of Turkey-Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Group, Mr. Oktay Öztürk, Deputy of Erzurum, Ambassador Mustafa Babar Hizlan and other officials.
Speaker National Assembly Dr. Fehmida Mirza, Secretary General Mr. M. Salman Faruqui, Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar, Senator Sughra Imam and other officials were also present during the meeting.
Welcoming Speaker Grand National Assembly of Turkey and his delegation to Pakistan, the President expressed the hope that his visit will deepen the friendship between the Parliaments and the two countries.  
He said that it was a matter of great pleasure to note that Pak-Turk Friendship Group is the largest in Turkish Grand National Assembly.
The President said that evolving democracies throughout the world could learn a lot from the experience of Turkey in democratic evolution.

The President said that the frequent exchanges of parliamentary delegations between Pakistan and Turkey would provide an opportunity to learn from each other and work together for strengthening of democracies and democratic institutions. 
The President also mentioned important legislative measures undertaken by the Pakistani Parliament to strengthen democracy and democratic institutions. Restoration of 1973 constitution to its original form, 18th Constitutional Amendment, devolving executive and legislative powers to the provinces, introduction of wide-ranging reforms in Gilgit-Baltistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas,  steps taken for safeguarding the rights of minorities, legislative measures to introduce democratic culture in the governance pattern making it more transparent and all-inclusive, and similar other measures were some of the important steps in our march towards strengthening of democracy, the President said.  

Discussing bilateral relations, the President said that Turkish leadership is held in great esteem among the people of Pakistan. Referring to Prime Minister Erdogan’s recent address to the Pakistani Parliament, the President said that his address was widely appreciated as frank and sincere advice from the leader of a brotherly country.He said that the people of Pakistan deeply appreciate the role of Turkish leadership in further strengthening historical relations between the two countries. The President said that we greatly admire giant strides that Turkey has made on the road to socio-economic progress under its visionary leadership. People-centric policies and the welfare agenda pursued by the Turkish leadership has made a qualitative impact in improving the lives of citizens in Turkey and Pakistan was keen to learn from the Turkey’s experience, the President said. The President also reiterated the proposal to declare 2013 as “Turkey Year” in Pakistan and “Pakistan Year” in Turkey.

Speaker Grand National Assembly of Turkey Mr. Cemil Cicek thanked the President for the warm welcome extended to him and his delegation and reiterated the desire of the Turkish leadership to further deepen and broaden the relationship between the two countries.
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More photos of the visit http://goo.gl/MNeJG
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Speaker Turkish Grand National Assembly Visits Pakistan


ANKARA, 17 July 2012: On the invitation of the Chairman Senate and the Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, H.E. Mr. Cemil ÇIÇEK, Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) today embarked on a three-day official visit of Pakistan.
Ambassador of Pakistan to Turkey H.E. Mr. Muhammad Haroon Shaukat and officers of the Pakistan Embassy bid farewell to the dignitary at Ankara Airport. Members of the delegation included Mr. Burhan Kayaturk, Member Parliament and President of the Turkey-Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Group; Ms Özlem Yemişçi; Member Parliament; Mr. Oktay Ozturk, Member Parliament; and senior officials of the TGNA.
During the visit, the delegation will be meeting with the Speaker National Assembly, Chairman Senate besides courtesy calls on the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan.
This highest level visit from the Turkish Parliament will further strengthen friendship between the parliaments of the two brotherly countries.

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Exotic places along the Karakoram highway by Charlotte McPherson

I recently met up with some foreigners who had traveled around northern Pakistan, through towns such as Hunza, Skardu and Gilgit, and then traveled on just across the border to Kashgar in northwest China.
It was fun to exchange stories with them and hear what these places are like nowadays.
In a way, it seems that with time a few things have changed. From what I could gather, getting most things done still takes time. You don’t just run in and do what you need to do and leave. Personal relationships, the value of which has been lost in the West, are still treasured in these more remote places. Time is important to people, but relationships even more so.
Even though it has been years, I still vividly remember the markets in my travel along the Silk Road. I found the open markets on the streets fascinating. Along the Karakorum Highway you could bargain for all kinds of things: silk cloth, clothing, tools, lamb, pastries, vegetables and fruit, especially the delicious grapes, dried apricots, almonds and more.
We could also not help but notice rifle shops and many knife sharpeners, coppersmiths, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, craftsmen making local musical instruments and more. Each town along the way had low wooden buildings where it appeared that more merchandise was outside the building on display, hanging from the roof or along the road, than inside it.
Back in the 1980s when I traveled the Karakoram Highway I tried hard to stay calm, as the wheels of our bus often hugged the edge of the road when a vehicle coming in the opposite direction would pass us. While driving along the edge of the road if you dared look out of your side window all you saw was a sharp drop.
When we visited Hunza I was struck by the wooded, picturesque village nestled in the towering mountains. In every town we visited we found a tea house and had a simple dinner. Back then, wherever we went we came across Afghan mujahedeen and refugees who had fled their homes and villages because of the Soviet invasion. The Afghans looked rugged, with bushy beards and wild stares. They were usually heavily armed.
In Gilgit -- finally arriving after an 18-hour journey -- I remember the incredible view as I looked towards K-2 and admired the grand peak, which was heavily glaciated, just catching the rays of the sun. I thought to myself, “This is like heaven -- beautiful and magnificent!”
Along the Karakorum Highway you see many buses and jeeps. After Gilgit we took a jeep. The brakes seemed rather dodgy and the shock absorbers were gone. It was probably the bumpiest and bounciest ride I have ever had in my life. There were moments when I really thought we were about to go off the road and down the mountain.
On my last trip to Pakistan I took a round trip to Gilgit from Islamabad. Despite spending three extra days in Rawalpindi because of the monsoon, it was a much more comfortable trip than the bus up the Karakorum Highway. It is spectacular to see from a plane the peaks of Nanga Parbat, with K-2 in the distance.
A few months ago I flew back to Turkey from New York and sat next to a nice, well-dressed, clean-shaven Pakistani businessman. We had a nice conversation and talked about how things had changed in Central Asia. A comment that he made sticks in my mind to this day: “The difference between a freedom fighter and a terrorist is which side you are on.”
Since my trip along the Karakorum Highway to Kashgar, a few modern hotels have been built, and the streets have filled with motor vehicles. Those who have been to Kashgar in recent times tell me that you can get a bird’s-eye view from a tall, modern hotel building, where you can see some Uighur houses with courtyards standing in stark contrast to the big, shiny, white-tiled, mirrored buildings that have sprung up as a sign of the times -- harbingers of modernity.
Our trip up the Karakoram Highway with its various stops along the old Silk Road was well worth the time and energy spent. The memories live on. The Silk Road is no longer for silk and spices -- however, it serves as a lifeline in a harsh environment.
A Turkish proverb says “Ak gün ağartır, kara gün karartır,” which literally means, “A white day sheds light, a black day sheds darkness.” May my old friends there know only white days.
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey” 2005. Please keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com

Courtesy: Today's Zaman, http://www.todayszaman.com/columnistDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=285441#.T_RLWew0BKg.blogger
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