Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday termed the relations between Pakistan and Turkey as “exemplary”, stating that great potential exists for collaboration in the defence sector.

Mr Erdogan addressed a graceful ceremony in Istanbul at a jointly cutting the first metal plate of the first of the four MILGEM Ada class corvette along with Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi.

Referring to the longstanding Jammu and Kashmir dispute, the Turkish president mentioned that the world needed to know about the sufferings of the Kashmiri people who have been continuously braving curfew and blockade since August 5.

Equating Kashmir with Palestine, he said more than eight million Kashmiris were living in an open-air prison in their own lands while facing brutalities of occupation forces with great courage.

Mr Erdogan vowed to continue raising the Kashmir issue and highlight miseries of the people of Kashmir.

Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, in his opening speech, termed the project as another testimony of the Pakistan-Turkey brotherhood.

He updated guests about the recent situation in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He spoke about the toxic ideology of Hindutva in India and the threat it poses to regional and international peace.

He said brutalities have increased after India’s August 5 illegal actions which were in contravention of the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the International Law.

The admiral thanked President Erdogan for raising Kashmir issue in his address at the UNGA in New York, saying the people of Pakistan and Kashmir were indebted to Turkey for its steadfast support.