KARACHI: The Town Municipal Corporation (TMC) of Gulshan-i-Iqbal on Monday signed a “sister-town agreement” with two municipalities in Türkiye’s Kastamonu province — Inebolu and Araç — aimed at expanding municipal cooperation and facilitating the exchange of expertise in urban development.
The agreement was signed by Gulshan-i-Iqbal Town Chairman Dr Fawad Ahmed and Dr Kamal Aydin, adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and president of the Ibn Sina Institute Türkiye, at a ceremony attended by Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) opposition leader Advocate Saifuddin, Jamaat-i-Islami East district chief Naeem Akhtar and other elected representatives and municipal officials.
A statement said that the three municipalities, under the agreement, will cooperate in urban development, city planning, smart-city initiatives, modern municipal services, technology and the exchange of experiences.
“The partnership is also expected to provide opportunities for the local authorities to learn from one another’s development models and successful municipal practices,” added the statement.
Addressing the signing ceremony, Dr Aydin said the sister-town agreement could lay the foundation for a brighter future for Gulshan-i-Iqbal. He said assistance would be provided to help transfer Türkiye’s urban development and municipal experiences to the town.
He said the longstanding fraternal relationship between Pakistan and Türkiye was well known around the world and that the friendship was now being strengthened at the municipal level as well. He also spoke of his association with Lahore and said he was inspired by the personalities of Allama Iqbal and Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi.
In his address, Gulshan Town chairman Dr Fawad Ahmed said Türkiye had made considerable progress in municipal governance and urban development, and described the agreement with the two Turkish municipalities as an important opportunity for the town.
He said Turkish municipalities played an important role in providing citizens with basic services at different stages of their lives, adding that Pakistan’s local governments could learn much from the Turkish model.
Dr Ahmed said the agreement represented a new concept of “sister towns”, as opposed to the more familiar idea of twin cities. He said it was the first agreement of its kind involving sister towns and friend smart cities from Pakistan, Türkiye, Azerbaijan and other D-8 countries.
Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2026
