ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday urged relevant departments of Pakistan and Turkiye to closely coordinate preparations for the Joint Commission and the 8th session of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council to advance the bilateral agenda.

Mr Dar made the remarks during a meeting with Ambassador of Turkiye to Pakistan Irfan Neziroglu, during which the two sides discussed bilateral relations and exchanged views on the evolving regional situation.

The ambassador briefed the deputy prime minister on progress under various bilateral institutional mechanisms aimed at advancing cooperation across a range of areas following recent high-level interactions between Pakistan and Türkiye.

The deputy PM reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further deepening engagement with Turkiye in key priority areas and emphasised the need for continued coordination between the relevant departments of both countries.

On the regional situation, Mr Dar underscored that dialogue and diplomacy remained the only viable path to resolving issues and achieving lasting peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

Attestation probe

The deputy PM also took notice of media reports concerning alleged irregularities in the apostille and document attestation system and constituted a three-member inquiry committee to investigate the verification process at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The committee has been tasked with identifying any misuse or irregularities in the apostille and document attestation system, reviewing the role of courier services involved in the process.