Ambassador Mehmet reads out President Erdogan’s message of ‘peace, stability and justice’
Zubair Qureshi
People hailing from almost all walks of life—parliamentarians, politicians, representatives of the armed forces, members of civil society, diplomats, intellectuals, officers of the MoFA, scholars, students and religious leaders—all turned up at a reception hosted by Ambassador of Turkiye Dr Mehmet Pacaci and Mrs Meryem Pacaci on the 99th anniversary of the Republic Day of Turkiye on Monday at Serena Hotel.
Federal Minister for Defecne Khawaja Muhammad Asif was the Chief Guest on the occasion while Minister for Religious Affairs Mufti Abdul Shakoor, Minister for Narcotics Control Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, Special Assistant to PM on Poverty Alleviation Faisal Karim Kundi and Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood were among the noted guests who graced the occasion and expressed their heartfelt felicitations to Ambassador Mehmet Pacaci, his spouse and the Turkish nationals present on the occasion.
The enthusiasm and mood at the reception was exemplary in the sense the Pakistani government as well as the public valued relations with the Turkish government and the people and this bond of love and affection has its roots even to the pre-Pakistan days.
In his brief address, Khawaja Asif called Turkiye a time-tested, trusted friend of Pakistan that always stood by Pakistan in its hour of difficulty.
Be it 2005 earthquake or recent flood disaster, Turkiye has always been there to express solidarity with Pakistan. They were kind to send relief goods, medicines, food bags, equipment and their rescue teams are still busy in relief and rehabilitation operations in flooded areas.
He also mentioned his recent visit to Turkiye and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s meetings with Turkish Pesident Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that reflected deep bond of friendship between the two nations.
In his welcome address, Ambassador Mehmet Pacaci thanked the guests for their presence.
It is a great pleasure to be here with you today, he said. While giving a background of the Republic Day, the Turkish ambassador said 99 years ago, on October 29 1923, the Republic of Turkiye was established under the leadership of Gazi Mustafa Kemal, after a victorious war of independence.
“We have guests from Türkiye here with us tonight. Our distinguished musicians and chefs of Turkish Cuisine from Türkiye both spiritually and physically will contribute to this evening with different melodies and tastes of Türkiye,” said the ambassador.
Later, he read out President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s message on the eve of the Republic Day.
In his message, President Erdogan expressed the pride and enthusiasm of celebrating the 99th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Türkiye.
“I congratulate the 29th October Republic Day of each and every one of our citizens in 81 provinces of our country and millions of our citizens in all corners of the world,” said the presidential message.
He (the president) also expressed his gratitude to the friends who shard the Turkish people’s joy of celebration in their missions abroad.
Following is the abridged text of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s message delivered by Ambassador Mehmet:
“On this occasion, I commemorate with gratitude once again Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of our Republic, alongside our heroes who crowned our War of Independence with victory, and the patriotic members of the Grand National Assembly.
I wish the mercy of Allah upon our holy martyrs who lost their lives, as if they were stepping into a rosary for the sake of our independence, and I commemorate our veterans with gratitude
We pursue our uninterrupted struggle to elevate the Republic of Türkiye, which we founded by paying heavy sacrifices 99 years ago under very difficult conditions, “above the level of contemporary civilizations”.
Thanks to the democracy and development revolutions, which we have achieved in the last 20 years, we removed not only the obstacles raised before the national will but also the thick walls placed between the people and the Republic.
We transformed Türkiye into a country with an exemplary democracy, an impressive economy, whose diplomacy is followed with interest, and which preserves its national unity and brotherhood in the strongest way possible, despite all attempts of sabotage.
It is a fact that Türkiye, whose struggle for independence was a beacon of inspiration to the oppressed people a century ago, remains within the range of the eye and hearts.
At a time when global uncertainties are on the rise, our efforts towards establishing peace, stability, and justice, are appreciated by all.
We strive to set up a peace and prosperity zone around us through our entrepreneurial and humanitarian foreign policy, from ending the humanitarian tragedy in Syria to finding a solution to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
As the country which provides the highest amount of humanitarian aid in proportion to its national income, we run to the rescue of all oppressed, victimized, and needy persons, regardless of their origin, belief, and differences.
While we reinforce the standing and importance of our country on a global scale, we incessantly pursue investment and development efforts in our country.
Natural gas that we have discovered in the Black Sea, and for which we spend efforts night and day to bring it to our homes, has opened new avenues for us in the field of energy.
We have reached the capacity of designing, developing. producing, and exporting our own products in the field of defence industry.
We compete with ourselves in every field, from agriculture to tourism, from transport to education and health, and we constantly raise the bar higher for success.
A few days ago, we laid the foundation for the biggest social housing project of our history, which will meet the housing and land demands of approximately six million citizens.
On 29 October, we will be holding a celebration, as the first ever domestic and national electric car of our country, TOGG, will come off the production line.
Despite all the obstacles and injustices we endure, we lay the foundations of our vision for 2053 and 2071, with the precision of a chess master.
We are determined to build the “Türkiye Century” upon the infrastructure of works and services we have provided to our country.
May Allah clear our path and destiny.
With these thoughts, I would like to congratulate our 29 October Republic Day once again and wish our nation health, serenity, and well-being
May the souls of our martyrs rest in peace! Happy 99th anniversary to our Republic!”
Towards the end of the ceremony, the guests were served with the Turkish and continental food.
