Adei Radio — Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Shehbaz Sharif that Turkey supports a return to diplomatic channels in the Middle East crisis and is ready to back efforts to restore a ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Presidency of the Republic of Turkey said Erdogan
condemned recent “terrorist attacks” in Pakistan during Tuesday’s call and
stressed the need for diplomatic engagement to prevent further bloodshed.
The conversation came amid heightened regional tensions
following recent U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, raising concerns about
broader instability affecting Afghanistan and neighboring countries.
Erdogan reaffirmed Turkey’s commitment to security
cooperation and bilateral ties with Pakistan and expressed readiness to support
mechanisms aimed at maintaining a ceasefire along the Afghanistan-Pakistan
border.
The call follows seven days of intense cross-border fighting
between Pakistani forces and Taliban authorities along the frontier, including
airstrikes and artillery exchanges that have escalated tensions between the two
neighbors.
Taliban officials have claimed that at least 150 Pakistani
soldiers were killed and more than 200 wounded in the clashes, while Pakistan
has said over 400 Taliban fighters were killed. Independent verification of the
casualty figures has not been possible, and the situation along the border
remains volatile.
Analysts say sustained diplomatic engagement by regional
actors such as Turkey could prove critical in preventing further escalation and
containing the conflict, as humanitarian and security concerns continue to
mount on both sides of the border.
