page_title: Pakistan–Turkey relations
section_title: Historical and Cultural Relations
hierarchical_section_title: Pakistan–Turkey relations / Historical and Cultural Relations
caption_attribution_description: Cropped section of original image of three ancient maps, public domain Scanned by WMF intern Mike Hoffman, uploaded by Bastique, and cropped by Editor at Large
context_page_description: Pakistan has an embassy in Ankara, a Consulate-General in Istanbul and an honorary consulate in Izmir whereas, Turkey has an embassy in Islamabad, a Consulate-General in Karachi and honorary consulates in Lahore, Peshawar, Sialkot and Faisalabad. As of 2016, in a joint communique, Pakistan and Turkey plan to strengthen their close ties into a "strategic partnership".
  Relations date back generations before the establishment of the two states, more precisely during the Turkish War of Independence when the Muslims of the northwestern British Raj sent financial aid to the declining Ottoman Empire, which was followed by the formation of the Turkish Republic and the Independence of Pakistan. Additionally, the countries share historical Islamic ties, as the Muslims living under the British Raj deemed the Ottoman Sultan as their Caliph, and the Caliph of Islam and all Muslims. Abdulhamid II, who reigned as the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1876 to 1909, used his Caliphal titles to incite the Muslims living in colonies to rebel against the European powers. As a result, Pakistan and Pakistanis have enjoyed a positive perception in Turkey and amongst Turks for many decades.
context_section_description: The regions comprising both Pakistan and Turkey have been mutually influenced by contiguous Persian, Hellenistic, Arab and Turco-Mongol cultures at various points in history. By the fifth century BCE, ancient Persia spread from Anatolia to the Indus River, introducing Persianate cultural and political traditions to these regions.
  Modern-day Turkey was home to many ancient European civilizations, including that of the Ionian Greeks. The country has many traces of cultural and historical influences from the ancient Greeks, including many Greek and Hellenistic archeological sites found in the region. Pakistan was also influenced by Greek culture and civilization in the aftermath of Alexander the Great's conquest of the Indus Valley, which later led to the development of the Indo-Greek Kingdoms and Greco-Buddhism. Gandhara, a region in western Pakistan, was a major thoroughfare of Hellenistic, Iranic and Indo-Aryan contact.
  Turkey became a Turkic-speaking country as a result of Seljuq conquest and Turkification of the region. Though Pakistan is not a Turkic-speaking country, its major languages, particularly Urdu (also known as Lashkari ), are strongly influenced by the Turkic language of the Mughals before it became the empire's official language. As a result, it has borrowed many loanwords from Chagatai. The etymology of the word "Urdu" traces itself back to Mughal rule, believed to be coined by the poet Mashafi.
  Moreover, the common cultural influences on Pakistan and Turkey span several centuries, as many Turkic and Iranic peoples ruled vast areas of Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East.
  The designs of clothing of the two countries also have common origins in Central Asia. Food is also similar to some extent such as Kebab, Pilaf and Halva although the spice content in Pakistan is different due to South Asian influence.
  Both Turkey and Pakistan practice the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam, which was the interpretation of Islam implemented by the Ottoman Empire and Mughal Empire respectively. Robust traditions of moderate Sufism exist and the religious ministers of both nations frequently contact each other.
  Many turks still remember the sacrifices and donations by fellow pakistanis to help turkey in its beginning days to pay off debts when they were themselves poor and the khilafat movement which was formed to protect the khilafa in turkey and to demand fair treatment of turkey after losing world war. It was just the Turks against the world, and the Turks felt disheartened & disillusioned with this lack of support, and Turkish national memory has been traumatized by the betrayal of fellow Muslims in a brutal war of survival, against the full might of non-muslim western powers. It was in these dark times that Shaukat Ali and Mohammad Ali Johar published an article in the Urdu weekly ‘Hamdard' and English weekly ‘Comrade' saying the Turks were justified in their fight against the British. During the Turkish war of independence, Ali brothers engaged in extensive tours across the length and breath of the Indian subcontinent focusing on muslim towns located mostly in present day Pakistan. They travelled with green robed volunteers, making passionate appeals to help the desperate Turks in need. On one of his fundraising tours Shaukat Ali announced to shake hands with only those who made contributions for the Turkish funds, and those who made large contributions he allowed them to kiss his hand. Allama Iqbal on the other hand kept busy in providing poetic inspiration to the Turkish struggle against western powers, holding large poetry meetings, addressing massive crowds and making sentimental appeals urging Muslims of Indian to fund the Turkish war effort. But the real reason for the success of this fundraising campaign was the popular support from ordinary Muslims of the subcontinent, that still echoes in the hearts of the people of Pakistan. Incredible stories of sacrifice and support by men, women and even children are still remembered in households across Pakistan. One such instance is when,  Khilafat volunteers at the 
caption: Regions of both modern-day Turkey and Pakistan in the domain of the Persian Empire.
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