ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit Turkey next week to hold talks with the Turkish leadership on mutual interests.

This was confirmed by Foreign Office spokesman Asim Iftikhar Ahmed while responding to questions during his weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Friday.

The spokesman said Pakistan believes in broad-based and balanced relations based on mutual respect with all major world powers including China and the United States.

About the sentence of Hurriyat leader, Yasin Malik to life imprisonment by an Indian Court, Foreign Office spokesman said Pakistan has mounted its efforts in this regard and will raise the issue at every international forum including in the upcoming meeting of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva next month.

He said Foreign Minister will also write to UN Secretary General to discuss the matter.

About the current situation in the territory, Foreign Office spokesman said Pakistan strongly condemns the latest extra-judicial killing of four Kashmiri youth in Srinagar and Pulwama districts today by the Indian troops.

He reiterated Pakistan’s call to India to immediately cease the human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

To a question about a Pakistani abducted in Nigeria, spokesman said Pakistani officials are in contact with the officials of Nigerian High Commission in Islamabad as well as Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria for urgent and safe release of Pakistani, Abu Zar who is resident of Multan.