
Pakistan, Turkey are two countries but one nation: Pak Air Force chief
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan said that Pakistan and Turkey are "two countries, one nation" as the Imran Khan government desperately seeks to salvage its relations with Ankara amid deteriorating relations with middle east and gulf countries.
According to Geo News, the Air Chief was addressing a meeting comprising board members of the Association of Justice Defenders and Strategic Studies Center (ASSAM) in Turkey on Friday.
The Air Chief said that Pakistan fully supports Turkey on Cyprus and other regional issues and also stands by Ankara in its war against terrorism.
Pakistan's declining relations with its two biggest sources of foreign remittances and foreign exchange-- Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-- is "bad news" for its already ailing economy, said scholar Salman Rafi Sheikh.
The Khan regime's tilt towards Turkey is reflected in his recent foreign policy choices, including its stated willingness to revive the dormant transnational rail service linking Istanbul, Tehran and Islamabad (ITI) in 2021.
The ITI transnational railroad is expected to enhance connectivity via China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by providing a direct rail connection between China and Turkey via Iran. China's presence in the line's revival is of central importance.
In an opinion piece in Asia Times, Salman Rafi Sheikh said Pakistan is tentatively reorienting its foreign policy away from Saudi Arabia and the UAE towards China's New Silk Roads.
Last August, Saudi Arabia asked Pakistan to repay early a USD 3 billion soft loan, Islamabad tried to defuse the tensions by quickly dispatching its current army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
"While Pakistan tentatively expands its ties with Iran and Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have applied clear pressure on Pakistan's two biggest sources of foreign remittances at a delicate economic juncture, undermining - at least for now - Islamabad's ability to chart a truly independent and perhaps more forward-looking foreign policy," the scholar noted.

US journalist arrested while covering protest goes on trial

UK Covid-19 deaths continue to fall as over one-third population inoculated

Italy's Covid-19 death toll tops 100,000

On Women's Day, Joe Biden creates gender policy council within White House

Vaccinated people can visit each other mask free, says CDC

Adviser urges China govt to use ‘fist and palm’ salute in times of pandemic

Trudeau names task force on women in the economy ahead of Budget

UK mulls postponing Brexit border checks on food

Thailand to cut quarantine for vaccinated foreigners to 7 days from April
- Vaccinations must be administered within three months of the travel period and travellers will be required to show negative Covid-19 test results.

Defying pandemic, feminists in Spain decry far-right attacks
- Spain’s Constitutional Court on Monday rejected last-minute appeals by unions and women’s rights groups to hold any kind of street protest in the Spanish capital, following similar recent rulings by lower-level courts.

Man linked to 3 Ohio homicides dies after Detroit shooting
- Chandra Moore, 55, died Friday, Detroit police Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood said.

South Africans invested most in 55 years as Covid-19 crisis raged
- The country’s collective investment scheme industry saw net annual inflows of 213 billion rand ($13.8 billion) in 2020, according to statistics released by the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa on Monday. That was the highest figure since 1965.

EU says it’s tired of being a scapegoat for slow vaccines

Italy arrests Algerian national over links to 2015 Paris attack

Austria stops using doses of one batch of AstraZeneca vaccine after nurse death
- The decision had been taken as a precaution, the National Office for Health System Safety (BASG) said late on Sunday, adding that there was "no evidence of a causal link" between the jab and the woman's death.