Pakistani PM visits Mevlana Museum in central Turkey

Starting a landmark two-day visit to Turkey, Pakistan’s prime minister on Thursday visited a museum in central Anatolia dedicated to Mevlana Rumi, the famed 13th-century Muslim poet.

Imran Khan's first official visit to Turkey since taking office last August comes at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Speaking to reporters after his visit to the Mevlana Museum in Konya, Khan said he was a follower of Sufism, the spiritual branch of Islam that Rumi also practiced.

“You know how much Muhammad Iqbal, Pakistan’s ideological father, loves his ideological father Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi,” said Khan, adding that he also read Rumi’s books.

“Rumi is the greatest representative of Sufism,” he said.