ISLAMABAD: The prime minister on Saturday congratulated the Turkish president on the 99th anniversary of the proclamation of the republic.
“On the 99th Republic Day of Turkiye, I extend our heartiest felicitations to President @RTErdogan [and] the people of Turkiye. The heroic struggle of the Turkish people for independence under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk holds a prominent place in the annals of history,” Shehbaz Sharif tweeted.
On the 99th Republic Day of Turkiye, I extend our heartiest felicitations to President @RTErdogan & the people of Turkiye. The heroic struggle of Turkish people for independence under the leadership of Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Ataturk holds a prominent place in the annals of history.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) October 29, 2022
In a subsequent tweet, Sharif noted that over the years, Türkiye’s impressive economic strides under Recep Tayyip Erdogan were acknowledged by the world.
“Pakistan seeks to deepen its multifaceted ties by further exploring the vast untapped potential in trade, commerce & industry,” he added.
Türkiye will host nationwide festivities, from concerts to sports events and official ceremonies, to remember the republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and his most prized legacy, Daily Sabah reported.
The republic, which replaced the collapsed Ottoman Empire, was declared a few months after an international treaty recognised the independence of the new state and the declaration of Ankara as its capital was made.
Atatürk, a veteran Ottoman officer who launched the struggle for independence when he secretly traveled to the northern province of Samsun in 1919, was the de facto leader of the new state.
In the book “Nutuk” (“The Speech”), which compiled Atatürk’s speeches between 1919 and 1923, the leader recounts the declaration of the republic as something that happened over the course of a dinner with leading figures of the War of Independence.
“During the dinner (on October 28, 1923), I told them we would declare the republic tomorrow. All my friends agreed with me and we took a break from the dinner to discuss what to do next. I never felt the need to discuss the plan to declare the republic because I never doubted that they thought differently than me,” he was quoted as saying.
Atatürk along with Ismet Inonu, who succeeded Atatürk as president, drafted a bill changing the 1921 constitution in which an amendment changed the State of Türkiye to the Republic of Türkiye and it was approved by Parliament the next day.
Atatürk was officially declared the first president at the same session of Parliament, amid chants of “Long live Republic!” by lawmakers and a thunderous applause. Atatürk famously concluded his speech after the election as the first president of the republic with remarks, “The Republic of Türkiye will always be blissful, victorious and successful.”
National celebrations ensued after the declaration, but the first large-scale celebrations were on October 29, 1924. In 1925, Parliament approved a proposal to declare the day a national holiday.
