Explaining Pakistan-Turkish Relations: Islamism and Naya Pakistan

Abstract

This article uses the theoretical framework of constructivism to evaluate the political relationship between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. The leaders of the two states have begun to strengthen political relations in order to achieve the common goal of enhancing the image of Islamism in the western world. This paper explores the basic research question of why Imran Khan is getting closer to Tayyip Erdogan? What are the driving forces behind Imran Khan’s diplomacy to boost the image of Islamism? This paper argues that Imran’s pursuit of Naya Pakistan and his desire to explain Islam to the West need the support of other Islamic countries, which gravitates him to Erdogan. Imran’s foreign behaviour is inspired by his desire to maintain political power to stay in office, and therefore he is trying to create the state of Medina and explain Islam to the West. Ergo, Erdogan is a rational choice for Imran as both of them share the same idea to solve the Muslim problem by uniting Muslims and explaining Islam to the West. They agreed to set up a joint television channel and an Islamic bloc to address Islamophobia and Muslim problems.