IS there a connection between the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s visit to Turkeyia and India’s aggressive, war-like actions against Pakistan?
If we search for the answer to this question, it becomes clear what is happening around us and what is likely to unfold in the coming days.
As soon as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took office under the PDM Government, Pakistan’s diplomatic activity saw an extraordinary rise and the country once again gained visibility on the international relations map.
This was in stark contrast to the sluggish foreign policy under the PTI government.
It is important here to cite just one example of the PTI’s foreign policy inaction.
In 2019, before the Modi Government altered the constitutional status of Occupied Kashmir, it launched a vigorous diplomatic campaign.
Prime Minister Modi himself and his Foreign Minister visited major capitals to build support and explain the necessity of their move.
Pakistan, whose lifeline is Kashmir, should have taken urgent and extraordinary steps to counter this.
Yet the record shows that the then Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan remained in Islamabad.
While the Indian leadership was personally meeting world leaders, Imran Khan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi were content with phone calls.
This indicates how inactive Pakistan’s foreign policy was during that time.
It was a direct consequence of this passivity that Kashmir slipped through our fingers.
When Shehbaz Sharif was elected Prime Minister for a second time, he picked up where he had left off.
Although only a year has passed since his second term began, there has already been as much diplomatic progress as would typically take five to seven years in normal circumstances.
The critical point here is to understand what unique aspect of Pakistan’s current foreign policy is causing concern for India.
If we place a world map on the table and trace Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent international visits with a pencil, a clear outline of the future begins to take shape.
This emerging map is not merely a piece of paper—it is the vision of the future, holding not only Pakistan’s fate but the destiny of the entire region.
At the heart of this vision are two key figures: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The Prime Minister’s recent visit to Turkeyia was part of this larger plan.
However, to understand the significance of this plan, one must first understand the causes of the economic devastation that began during Imran Khan’s tenure.
An economic advisor from the PTI era had openly admitted in a discussion that the delay in securing an IMF deal was intentional.
As a result, he warned, only a miracle could now save Pakistan’s economy.
Subsequently, the then-FBR Chairman Shabbar Zaidi publicly declared that Pakistan was technically bankrupt.
On one hand, the country faced economic collapse and on the other, the resettlement of thousands of TTP militants laid the groundwork for civil conflict.
Economic bankruptcy coupled with internal warfare would have led international powers to claim that Pakistan’s nuclear assets were unsafe and must be placed under UN control.
During this time, even Imran Khan hinted that he was open to curtailing the nuclear program under certain conditions.
What Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is now doing—after stabilizing the national economy—is future-focused.
This vision not only serves Pakistan’s interests but also holds the key to regional development and prosperity.
Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar once shared that President Erdoğan had proposed a trilateral mechanism that would include Pakistan, Turkeyia and Azerbaijan.
Turkish Ambassador Dr.Irfan Naziroglu explained that this mechanism would not only foster economic, trade, cultural and strategic cooperation but would also help build a “Middle Corridor,” which would significantly enhance the utility of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
President Erdoğan’s recent visit to Pakistan laid the foundation for this trilateral mechanism, which was further solidified during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Azerbaijan.
The purpose of this visit was to review progress and sign key bilateral agreements in several important sectors.
Through this trilateral mechanism and the Middle Corridor, not only will our region be connected to Greater Eurasia, but the entire Central Asian region will also fall within this strategic framework.
The shared vision of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Erdoğan is deeply tied to the development and prosperity of the region, including Pakistan.
This mechanism is not just about progress; it also carries great strategic importance.
India fears this future because it believes that if countries in the region—especially Pakistan—successfully overcome their challenges, India’s dreams of regional dominance will shatter.
The transformation of Bangladesh has already deeply unsettled India.
The theatrical incidents in Pahalgam during Shehbaz Sharif’s Turkeyia visit, the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and India’s militaristic posturing—coinciding with the U.S. Vice President’s visit to India—all serve the same objective.
India wants to derail Pakistan from its focus on development and drag it into a security crisis.
In doing so, Pakistan’s recovering economy would be destabilized and regional cooperation projects would come to a halt.
India’s aim is to push Pakistan back into the chaos of the Imran Khan era—a time of economic collapse—so that it can pursue its hegemonic ambitions without resistance.
After the devastation Pakistan endured, it has worked hard to return to the right path.
That path is the one leading to success.
Any mischief from India was always a possibility—and it has materialized in the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty.
Pakistan’s response was prompt and appropriate.
Now it is essential to expose India before the world—how it manipulates strategic objectives at the expense of human lives and uses terrorism as a weapon.
—This writer is former advisor to the President of Pakistan, author & mass media theorist. (farooq.adilbhuta@gmail,com)
