ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Ch Nisar Ali Khan on Wednesday urged Iran to step forward and join hands with Pakistan to overcome mutual trust deficit that will in turn help secure peace and stability in two countries as well as the entire region.
During a meeting between Interior Minister Ch Nisar and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to work closely for furthering Pak-Iran relations and promoting mutual cooperation encompassing all areas of mutual interest and concerns, including effective border management, curbing drug trafficking and checking illegal cross border movement through better coordination, greater intelligence sharing and frequent interactions at political, military, security and at the level of various ministries.
To remove irritants and overcome issues of mutual concerns in the areas of border management and illegal human and drug trafficking, the two leaders decided that operational committees at various levels would be constituted for identification of areas of cooperation, addressing mutual concerns and suggesting the way forward for further enhancing bilateral cooperation. The two sides agreed in principle to revive hotline between the border security forces of the two countries in order to resolve any issues at border. They were unanimous in their views that they are willing to go extra mile for furthering bilateral cooperation. The two leaders also reaffirmed their commitment not to let their borders and their lands used by anyone against each other.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called on Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa at General Headquarters (GHQ) and discussed regional security and other issues of bilateral interest, according to a statement issued by the ISPR.
“Pakistan was committed to having lasting relations with Iran and will keep up its efforts to reduce friction amongst brotherly Muslim countries,” the army chief told the visiting dignitary.
“Both sides agreed on improving bilateral broader coordination to deny any space to the terrorists as tremendous bilateral cooperation potential was identified in various fields,” ISPR said. Zarif appreciated the efforts of Pakistan and Pakistan Army against terrorism.
The Iranian foreign minister also called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The prime minister expressed satisfaction at the increasing high-level exchanges between the two countries to strengthen bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. He hoped that the two sides will continue to expand economic interaction for promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, energy and connectivity. In this regard, he underlined the need of concerted efforts from both sides to achieve the target of $ 5 billion in the bilateral trade as soon as possible. The issues of peace and stability in the region also came under discussion during the meeting.
The Iranian foreign minister thanked the prime minister and the government of Pakistan for continued efforts for strengthening bilateral relations and enhancing interaction in all areas including trade and economic cooperation as well as border and security issues. He also conveyed the desire of the Iranian leadership for continued efforts for growth in bilateral ties.
