Islamabad: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has concluded his one-day visit to Istanbul. During the visit, he participated in the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, established under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, alongside Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Army Chief and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and other officials.

According to Radio Pakistan, Ishaq Dar also held a bilateral meeting with Trkiye's Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan. The Deputy Prime Minister is now travelling from Istanbul to Bishkek alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Minister of National Defence Yasar Gler. Ishaq Dar will join Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistani delegation for the SCO Council of Heads of State Meeting and the SCO Plus Summit.

He will accompany the Prime Minister during his engagements in Bishkek, including bilateral discussions with President Sadyr Zhaparov on Pakistan-Kyrgyzstan relations and ways to further strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest. Pakistan will assume the chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State for 2026-27 during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's three-day official visit to the Kyrgyz Republic, which begins today.