US 'supporting' international terrorists: Turkish PM

Islamabad, Oct 15 (ANI): Criticising the "double standards" of the United States, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused it of supporting some common enemies of Pakistan and Turkey, adding that the time had come to act together and unmask them.

Erdogan stated that some foreign hands were supporting terrorists in Pakistan and Turkey directly as well as through some NGOs, The News reported.

He came down very hard on the "double standards" of the US, and stated that a recent Israeli attack on Turkish ship- Freedom Flotilla- had unmasked the so-called civilised face of Washington, who openly and shamelessly supported the state terrorism of Israel.

"Nine Turkish martyrs on the ship received 21 bullets from Israeli soldiers in their bodies, we provided post mortem reports and even the pictures to the EU and USA but Washington is not ready to condemn the state terrorism of Israel against Turkey which means that the USA is supporting an international terrorist who killed our citizens in international waters," Erdogan noted.

When asked what his advice to Pakistan would be for establishing diplomatic relations with Israel, which already has such ties with Turkey, the premier replied, "Despite diplomatic relations Israel never behaved like a civilised country with Turkey, and I cannot give any advice to my Pakistani brothers; it is their right to decide about making relations with Israel".

In the wake of the vast devastation caused by the recent floods in the country, he said that the people of Pakistan should not fight with each other, they should rather concentrate on the rehabilitation of 20 million flood victims. "Instability and infighting will only help your enemies who are looking for an opportunity to use Pakistanis against Pakistanis," he warned.

"If you will not understand the evil designs of your enemies then what will be the future of 20 million flood victims of Pakistan, who will help them if you start fighting with each other," he added.

Erdogan pointed out that Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan and Iran had a common future, and while the security of one country lay in the security of others, enemies were creating problems for the four nations.

"Pakistan is my second home and I am concerned about the internal situation of my second home," he added, and insisted that it and Turkey must play a decisive role in stabilising war-torn Afghanistan.

The premier also stated that both Pakistan and Turkey had suffered because of military dictators who were always supported by the USA, politicians in both the countries were hanged by military regimes in both countries, and both of them were presently fighting against terrorism.

"We have common problems and common solutions, military dictatorships have always created problems and democracy is a common solution," he said.

Talking about the Kashmir dispute, Erdogan noted that Pakistan and India must resolve the issue through peaceful talks, adding, "You need strong political will for resolving Kashmir dispute." (ANI)