Viral: In Another Mishap, Pakistan PM Denied Hug by Turkish President Erdogan
© AP Photo / Ali UnalTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, waves upon his arrival to take the oath, in front of the legislators elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, June 3, 2023.
© AP Photo / Ali Unal
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Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday attended the inauguration ceremony of the Turkish president following Recep Tayyip Erdogan's victory in the presidential run-off.
Outright drama was captured on camera during the inauguration of Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposedly denied a hug by the Turkish head of state.
A video is making the rounds on social media showing Sharif reaching out to embrace his Turkish counterpart, but Erdogan, for reasons unknown, denied the gesture of friendship.
The footage quickly went viral, mostly being circulated by Indian Twitter users.
Shehbaz Sharif desperately tries to hug Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Turkish President is just too smart. Maybe he suspects what Shehbaz is trying to do. Erdoğan keeps both hands over his wallet.
— Major Gaurav Arya (Retd) (@majorgauravarya) June 4, 2023
Notice that when Shahbaz tries to probably whisper a request for money into Erdoğan’s… pic.twitter.com/F5otodGzfW
Ties between Turkiye and Pakistan have witnessed several mishaps recently, as the Sharif government is trying to handle both a political crisis and economic woes that his country has faced.
When Turkiye was rocked by deadly earthquakes in February, Sharif was slated to visit the nation to show his solidarity with the Turkish people. However, the visit was abruptly cancelled.
At the same time, several media outlets speculated that the humanitarian aid Pakistan sent to Turkiye to help deal with the devastating consequences of the quakes turned out to be the same aid Ankara had provided to Pakistan during the terrible floods that hit the nation back in 2020. No official comments were issued to either confirm or deny the alleged controversy.