Iran, Pakistan vow expansion of relations

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Pakistan's newly-appointed foreign minister on his first official visit to Tehran on Tuesday held wide-ranging talks with his Iranian counterpart to discuss bilateral and regional issues.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's two-day visit to Iran is the first by a top-ranked Pakistani official since the formation of a new government in Islamabad in April.

Following their delegation-level talks, Zardari and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian reaffirmed commitment to expand bilateral ties.

Addressing a joint press conference, Amir-Abdollahian termed relations between Tehran and Islamabad as "deep-rooted,” saying the two sides have established a new relationship based on mutual cooperation.

The talks dwelt on a range of issues, including export of gas and electricity, religious tourism, and border markets, he said.

The top Iranian diplomat said "despite the US sanctions,” there were mechanisms in place that allow for expansion of cooperation between Iran and Pakistan.

Zardari, for his part, said Islamabad seeks ways to enhance relations with Tehran, underlining areas of cooperation such as border management, religious tourism and cultural cooperation.

He said Islamabad seeks to remove hurdles to expanding bilateral trade, with focus on cross-border trade and border markets, while also expressing interest in importing more electricity and gas from Iran.

The newly-appointed top Pakistani diplomat said despite connectivity, shared borders and shared cultures between the two sides, there is "lot of potential" for the two sides to expand religious and economic tourism.

He also thanked the Iranian leadership for their "unwavering support" to the people of Kashmir, which apparently came up for discussions between the two officials.

Zardari, the scion of the famous Bhutto-Zardari family of Pakistan, further expressed concern about the situation in Afghanistan, calling for the release of the country's frozen assets and formation of an inclusive government in Kabul.

His visit to Iran coincides with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Iran and Pakistan.

- Nuclear talks

Amir-Abdollahian said the two sides also discussed regional issues, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Palestine, while emphasizing that Iran is "opposed to war" in Ukraine and offers to mediate between Moscow and Kiev to resolve the simmering crisis.

On the situation in Afghanistan, the top Iranian diplomat said Tehran is "loudly and clearly" calling for the formation of an "inclusive government" with participation of all ethnicities, terming it the "only solution" to the crisis facing the country.

The two sides also discussed Palestine, Amir-Abdollahian said, calling it "the first issue of the Islamic world". He added that there should be a "stronger unity of action" in part of the Muslim world against Israel's "threatening and hostile actions.”

The stalled nuclear deal talks and the recent vote against Iran at the UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors meeting also figured in their discussions, Iran's foreign minister told reporters.

He said Iran was "not running away" from negotiations and that messages were being exchanged between Tehran and Washington through top European Union officials Josep Borrell and Enrique Mora.

He further said that despite messages exchanged between the two sides, and Washington accepting Iran's new initiative, the US went ahead with a resolution at the IAEA meeting "to gain more concessions.”

Last week, the UN nuclear watchdog adopted a resolution against Iran, drafted by the US and three European countries, calling on Tehran to step up its cooperation with the agency.

Pakistan was one of the three countries, apart from India and Libya, to abstain from the vote, while Russia and China voted against it.

In response, Iran switched off IAEA cameras operating beyond safeguards agreement at its nuclear sites and fed gas into advanced IR-6 centrifuges, fueling fresh tensions.