Pakistan’s Army chief says Pakistan supports Turkey’s position on Cyprus

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa said in a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister  Binali Yaldarim  on 22^nd June that , Pakistan supports Turkey’s position on Cyprus.

The Cyprus dispute (also known as Cyprus issue or Cyprus problem) is an ongoing dispute, which started as anti-colonial struggle but quickly evolved into a dispute over power-sharing between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. Following the 1974 war, the dispute has been complicated further because of the presence of Turkey in north Cyprus, including the stationing of military forces, which Greek Cypriots object and the UN has often deplored in reports and resolutions.

Although the Republic of Cyprus is recognized as the sole legitimate state, sovereign over the entire island, the north is de facto under the administration of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus which is guarded by Turkish Armed Forces. Whether Turkey intervened or invaded Cyprus remains subject to debate, while there is broad recognition that the ongoing military presence constitutes occupation of territories that belong to the Republic of Cyprus.

Pakistan on Cyprus

When in July 1974, a coup led to a declaration of enosis between Cyprus and Greece, the Turkish government under Bulent Ecevit launched an invasion of the island, and carved out a Turkish enclave that incorporated around a third of the land. Although widely criticised, Turkey recognised the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC). Pakistan, in a show of solidarity, followed suit, and there was an embassy of the TRNC in Islamabad. But this entity has not been recognised by anybody else.