ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Monday urged the international community to adopt a ‘constructive’ attitude towards Pakistan in its present difficult period.

Pakistan was passing through a difficult period and the international community needed to have a big picture of the situation and help it, he said at a joint news conference with President Pervez Musharraf after their formal talks at the Aiwan-i-Sadr.

“In this critical period all leading figures should focus on the future of Pakistan,” he added.

Mr Gul said: “Democracy is essential for sustainability of states, but at the same time the realities of a country should be taken into consideration.”

When President Musharraf was asked about President Gul’s scheduled meetings with political leaders of Pakistan, he said: “My brother’s interests lie in Pakistan and not in any individual or political party. All political and personal issues must be kept subservient to the interests of Pakistan. One has to see the bigger picture and not the narrowly focused one.”

Pakistan was committed to playing a crucial role in the war against terrorism and needed to be fully supported by the international community, President Musharraf said, adding: “Pakistan ... its future, is important here in this difficult geography ... region. Therefore, constructive approach is important.”

President Musharraf and his Turkish counterpart described their talks as “fruitful having in-depth interaction”, covering bilateral matters, regional and international issues, war against terrorism, cooperation in defence production and economic and political relations.

He said President Gul’s visit marked 60 years of deep-rooted friendship. He said the two sides discussed the need for restructuring the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the importance of Pakistan’s geo-strategic location as a trade and energy corridor.

He said the standoff between the United States and Iran was also discussed and both sides stressed the need for efforts to normalise the situation for the sake of peace and stability in the region.

“We both showed our concern that our trade and economic relations were not in consonance with their deep brotherly ties” Mr Musharraf said.

He said steps to enhance cooperation in defence production were also discussed because there was an immense potential in this area.

He thanked Turkey for its support to Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir dispute, cooperation in education and rehabilitation of victims of the Oct 2005 earthquake.

President Gul said Turkey was a member of the OIC Kashmir Contact Group which was striving to find a solution on the basis of international legitimacy.

He said Pakistan and Turkey were also part of the tri-lateral peace jirga along with Afghanistan and were jointly fighting extremism and terrorism in the region.

“The Turkish people stand by Pakistan in their fight against extremism and terrorism. Pakistan will always find Turkey along its side”, Mr Gul said, hoping that this friendship would continue to flourish.