Building
Bridges and Strengthening Ties
Mr. Murat Mustafa Onart, Turkish Consul General, Karachi
A
conversation on tourism, media and friendship with Mr.
Murat Mustafa Onart, Turkish Consul General, Karachi
First impression is the last
impression they say and while on a visit ‘This Fortnight
in Pakistan’s’ first impression of Turkey and Turkish
people can be coined in two words; friendly and welcoming.
Although when it came to interviewing a diplomat we had
preconceived notions about diplomats being the solemn
kind! However in this regard the outgoing Turkish Consul
General, Karachi Mr. Murat Mustafa Onart, proved us
otherwise. Down to earth and highly respectable his
interview was a breeze with a dash of seriousness attached
to it.
Teşekkürler Bayım (Thank you Sir), Çok takdir (Much
appreciated).

Six years
and about to bid farewell so how has your journey been?
From the very first day it
has been a happy journey. There has been no difficulty
adjusting due to the respect and acknowledgement that I
got here. I choose to come to Karachi because as you know
Turkey has very few friendly countries around the world. I
wanted to work in a friendly and hospitable country and
Pakistan was my first choice. Normally it is a two year
posting but I requested to stay for four years. My
ministry was kind enough to let me stay. Later for
professional reasons I was asked to stay for another two
years. The limit is six years but now I have to go back to
Turkey soon. What can I say about Pakistan especially
Karachi ‘I don’t want to go back’! I am very comfortable
and happy here.
With the
growing Pak/Turk friendship and our bilateral relations
strengthening day by day in your opinion what more can be
done on this level?
On the political and military
level we have very good relations. Our respective PM’s and
ministers have been visiting each other often including
the city of Karachi. We have a high consul for cooperation
which meets regularly. On the education front at the time
of RCD (Regional Cooperation for Development) many
scholarships were available. We had lots of Pakistani
students going for engineering degree. A student who
studied in Turkey in the 60s today is building a new
consulate. There was a cut for many years but fortunately
for the last 5/6 years the interest has peaked up again
and the ministry of Turkey is favouring Pakistani
students. Many Turkish universities that offer high level
education are very happy with Pakistani students because
of their English skills which in turn bring a lot to the
classroom. The only thing that is lagging behind is the
economic relations. Common trade is only half a billion
dollars hence to increase bilateral trade we want to sign
a treaty of agreement between Turkey and Pakistan.
Basically we have very close relations and it is going
very well.

With the
Turkish dramas a rage in Pakistan how do you feel about
the positive response to the Turkish content despite a
language barrier?
We do not feel that there is
any language barrier really. The dramas are being dubbed
in Urdu. I have heard that the dubbing is very good.
However this exchange is private. Not State sponsored.
Private channels are buying them from the open market. I
think the private channels here were impressed by the
success of Turkish dramas in the Middle East especially in
Dubai. Since lots of Pakistanis reside there hence they
forwarded the dramas to Pakistan. Our drams are of course
good even though at times they do not reflect the stories
perfectly nevertheless it has raised the interest of
people in Turkish stories. Now even Turkish people have
started reading their stories more.
Do you
foresee mutual collaborations in media productions between
Pakistan and Turkey?
There are a lot of media
houses in Pakistan who want to organize events and
programmes in Turkey; Istanbul being the most preferred
city. There have been instances like the morning show
‘Sunrise from Istanbul’ then Pakistani movies are being
shot in Turkey. Ever since I have been here 4/5 movies
have been shot in my country. InshAllah my Ambassador Mr.
Sadık Babür Girgin is also working towards Turkish media
getting access to shooting in Pakistan. Our state
television TRT along with the Ambassador is working on
enhancing cooperation between TRT and your state run
channel PTV.

The Turkish
Tourism Industry is a success story and of late it has
become THE destination for not only Pakistanis in Pakistan
but Pakistanis living overseas as well. How does Turkish
tourism purpose to attract more Pakistani tourists?
As you said it is a wonderful
place for Pakistanis to visit because the amount of
respect we give each other is what makes it a place to be.
Our people too have a friendly approach towards tourists
hence they feel comfortable. To enhance tourism firstly we
have increased the number of connections via Turkish
Airlines. We now have 21 flights a week so that sums up to
one flight every day from Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore.
Also the airplanes are getting bigger and bigger. We now
have airbuses hence the flight is more comfortable along
with the increase in connections has made Turkey
accessible. Secondly our visa policy is easy to handle.
Before people were lining here on the consulate road with
no shade and had to come early to make a line. Ever since
Gerry’s has taken over it has become a comfortable
premises with AC rooms. We consider the collaboration on
visa process with Gerry’s a success. They have been very
cooperative and are enhancing the service more and more.

As a Consul
General how does the consulate hope to work for more
people-to-people contact and mutual understanding between
the two countries in the future?
This is the 70th year of the
establishment of Diplomatic relations between Pakistan and
Turkey. We have a strong cultural connection. In this
regard we will be holding a lot of cultural events and
receptions till the beginning of 2018. Earlier the
Dervish dancers came to perform in Islamabad and Lahore.
Continuing with the celebrations we will bring Turkish
artists who work in traditional art form; Ottoman art to
calligraphy. Art certainly brings people closer and
through that we aim to do exactly that; bringing the two
nations closer.
Uzma Mazhar & Sara
Ashraf
Editor & Assistant Editor
This Fortnight in Pakistan |