In the Memory of Ömer Önder Haberdar

Some people come into your life and leave a footprint so deep that even after they are gone, the ground remembers their steps. Ömer Önder Haberdar was one such person.

I first met Ömer Önder Haberdar through mutual Turkish friends in Lahore — Ahmet Çağırıcı, Orhan Taşkıran and Burak Kazım Mırık. The moment he was introduced, I understood why everyone spoke of him with such warmth. There was no distance between his title and his heart. As the General Manager of Turkish Airlines in Lahore, he could have lived behind the protocol of a big airline. But Ömer Önder Haberdar chose a different path. He chose people. He chose Pakistan.

Ömer Önder Haberdar did not come to Pakistan as a stranger. Pakistan was already in his blood. His father had also served here. From childhood he had heard stories of Lahore’s streets, of Pakistani hospitality, and of a friendship that goes beyond geography. He inherited that love, and he multiplied it. In him, I saw the second generation of a Pak-Turk bond that was not built on paperwork, but on sincerity.

Our relationship was built on mutual love and respect. Whenever we met, the conversation was never only about flights, schedules, or business. It was about Pakistan, about Türkiye, about the common values that tie our nations. He listened the way an elder listens, and he encouraged the way a brother encourages. His love for Pakistan and Pakistanis is an example for others.

During his tenure in Lahore, Ömer Önder Haberdar became a symbol of Pak-Turk friendship. The numbers tell part of the story, but the spirit tells the rest. Under his leadership, Turkish Airlines connected Pakistan to Türkiye with two daily flights. Two flights every day mean mothers reuniting with sons, students reaching their universities, businessmen finding new partners, and tourists discovering each other’s culture. He did not see those flights as just routes on a map. He saw them as bridges.

Tourism between our two brother countries increased visibly during his time. More Pakistanis began to explore Istanbul, Cappadocia, Konya and Antalya. More Turks began to visit Lahore, Islamabad, Murree , Hunza and Gilgit. Ömer Önder Haberdar personally encouraged this exchange. He welcomed travel agents, supported cultural delegations, and made sure that Turkish Airlines was not only selling tickets but also selling the idea of brotherhood.

He made and signed many mutual cooperative agreements here in Pakistan.

Beyond aviation, he became a cause of investment and businesses. Turkish companies that were hesitant found in him a man who would pick up the phone, arrange a meeting, and explain Pakistan with honesty. Pakistani businesses that wanted to enter the Turkish market found in him a door-opener. He understood that trade is not just containers and contracts. Trade is trust. And he built that trust daily.

What I will remember most, however, is his heart during difficult times. Whenever Pakistan faced floods, earthquakes, wars, or any crisis, Ömer Önder Haberdar and Turkish Airlines were among the first to respond. He participated in all relief works and activities, coordinated aid shipments, and made sure that help from Türkiye reached the people who needed it most. For him, being in Pakistan during hardship was not an option. It was a duty.

In Lahore, he also created something that still lives on: the monthly gathering of the Türk diaspora. Before Ömer Önder Haberdar, Turks living in Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot and nearby cities rarely met as a community. He initiated these monthly meetings, hosted them, and turned them into a family. There was food, there was music, there were children running around, and there was that feeling of “vatan” even thousands of kilometers away from home. Through those gatherings, he reminded every Turk that they were ambassadors of friendship between Pakistan and Türkiye.

Ömer Önder Haberdar supported Pakistan in all forms — in education, in culture, in business, and in the diplomacy of the heart. He never made it about himself. If there was credit to be given, he gave it to his team. If there was work to be done, he was the first to roll up his sleeves. That humility is rare in positions of authority, and it is why Pakistanis loved him.

Now we hear the news that he has been transferred to the Balkans. It is a promotion, and Türkiye’s gain. But for Pakistan, it is a moment of missing. Lahore will miss his morning calls to the office. The diaspora will miss his monthly gatherings. His friends will miss his encouragement. And I will miss a friend who proved that diplomacy can be done with respect, sincerity, and service.

Countries are often connected by treaties and agreements. But the real connection happens through people like Ömer Önder Haberdar. People who carry love from their fathers and pass it on to the next generation. People who believe that Pakistan and Türkiye are not just “two states, one nation” in slogans, but in daily actions.

As he begins his new chapter in the Balkans, I pray that he carries the same light there that he carried here. And I pray that Pakistan never forgets the man who connected us with two daily flights, with countless acts of kindness, and with a love that was inherited and then earned.

Thank you, Ömer Önder Haberdar.

Pakistan will miss you. But the bridge you built will remain. And every time a Turkish Airlines plane takes off from Lahore, we will remember that it was you who made the sky between our countries feel a little closer.

Pakistan, Pakistanis and all your friends here wish you the best of luck for your future endeavors. Stay blessed and stay connected.