ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira on Monday hailed the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz for showing goodwill gesture by listening to the address of Turkish Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan, to the joint session of Parliament, with full attention and silence.

Talking to media persons, Kaira said the behavior of the opposition during the the Turkish PM's address showed that the political parties were now mature.

He said the PML-N gesture reflected the maturity of Pakistan's democratic culture as the Turkish prime minister was the guest of the whole nation.

Kaira said the people of South Asia had been enjoying cordial relations with Turkey for decades, even before the creation of Pakistan.

He said Turkey, which attained phenomenal democratic successes during recent years, always helped Pakistan at every critical time. He cited the example of 2005 earthquake and floods when Turkey extended whole-hearted assistance to Pakistan.

"The Turkish PM's visit will further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries," he added.

He said the Turkish prime minister in his address gave advice to the government as well as the opposition.

"Democracy in the country should be strengthened," he added. He urged Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif to respect the office of the president and the prime minister.