ISLAMABAD - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has asked Pakistan not to allow the United States to open a consulate in Balochistan.
An Arabian TV channel, while quoting sources, said Nejad gave the proposal to President Asif Ali Zardari during the trilateral summit in Islamabad.
The Iranian president said his country believed the US consulate in Quetta could prove a threat to Iran’s security, adding that it might help Jandullah, the militant group involved in armed activities in Iran, and other outfits.
Sources say Nejad stressed the need for a joint strategy by the regional countries to stop foreign interference in their internal affairs.
According to an Iranian TV channel, Nejad told reporters on his arrival in Tehran after a visit to Pakistan that the multiple challenges being faced by the countries in the region were imposed by the foreign powers.
Talking about the Islamabad moot, he said the three countries held more or less similar views on all the common issues, adding that they had to trust each other for progress and prosperity in the region and deal with the misgivings.
Meanwhile, according to a private Pakistani TV channel, Pakistan has decided to launch an operation against a banned militant organisation active in Balochistan.
President Ahmadinejad, during his visit to Islamabad, had pressed the Pakistani authorities to take action against Jundullah, the channel reported quoting its sources. Islamabad assured the visiting president that Pakistan would not allow any group to use its territory to launch terrorism against neighbouring countries.
Authorities also assured Iran that Pakistan would not allow the United States to open its consulate in Quetta.