The second meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan opens today in Istanbul. The meeting will be attended by US special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke.

The Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP), which held its first meeting on 17 April in Tokyo, is an important forum to address challenges facing Pakistan.

The group meeting will be inaugurated by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureishi.

Minister Davutoglu will also give an iftar dinner to the participants.

The first day of the meeting is scheduled to bring top-level bureaucrats together, while the second day talks are expected to be held at ministerial level.

Representatives of 20 countries and six international bodies will be participating in the high-level meeting of the group to address challenges facing Pakistan.LINK