PM Shehbaz and Erdogan held bilateral talks. The PM met Turkish business leaders and attended a B2B conference in Istanbul on Friday — a visit that came immediately after attending the funeral ceremony for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran.
Two countries in two days. Tehran in the morning for a funeral. Istanbul in the afternoon for trade. The contrast in tone — mourning and commerce within the same 24 hours — reflects the speed at which Pakistan’s diplomatic calendar is moving this week.
The PM was accompanied by a senior delegation including National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. CDF Field Marshal Asim Munir attended the Tehran funeral but departed separately for Pakistan. Dawn’s confirmed Pakistan diplomatic news coverage tracked the full delegation movements.
The Türkiye Connection
Pakistan and Türkiye share a diplomatic relationship that both sides describe as a “strategic partnership.” Trade between the two countries has been growing — Türkiye received 2,250 kilograms of mangoes under the 2026 Mango Diplomacy initiative, making it the second-largest recipient after Saudi Arabia.
The B2B conference in Istanbul focused on connecting Pakistani and Turkish business leaders across sectors including textiles, construction, defence manufacturing, and technology. Pakistan’s textile exports to Türkiye have expanded in recent years, and construction companies from both countries have collaborated on infrastructure projects in third markets across Central Asia and Africa.
The bilateral talks with Erdogan are expected to have covered trade expansion, defence cooperation, and Pakistan’s role in the ongoing US-Iran mediation. Türkiye has maintained its own diplomatic channels with both Washington and Tehran throughout the conflict, and Erdogan’s government has positioned itself as a potential additional mediator.
Tehran Earlier the Same Day
Before Istanbul, PM Shehbaz and CDF Munir attended the funeral ceremony at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian embraced PM Shehbaz during the ceremony — a gesture that visually underscored the depth of the Pakistan-Iran relationship built through the Islamabad MOU mediation.
Khamenei was killed aged 86 in a US-Israeli air strike on February 28. The funeral processions will continue through July 9, with ceremonies planned in Qom, Isfahan, and Mashhad before burial in Khamenei’s hometown.
Representatives from more than 100 countries are expected to attend. Pakistan’s delegation — spanning the government, the military, and the opposition’s coalition partner — was among the most senior present.
What This Means for Pakistan’s Diplomatic Positioning
President Zardari and PM Shehbaz also felicitated Trump on America’s 250th birthday.
Tehran funeral. Istanbul trade talks. A congratulatory message to Washington. All in the same 48 hours. Pakistan is managing relationships with countries that are actively in conflict with each other — and doing so without alienating any of them.
Whether that balancing act is sustainable depends on the next phase of the US-Iran negotiations, which are paused until after the Khamenei funeral processions conclude on July 9.
