A senior security analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi has said that both Iran and Pakistan are the victims of terrorism, therefore, called for close cooperation between the two countries to effectively fight against terrorism. Endorsing the statement of Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani, during a meeting with Chairman Senate Farooq H. Naik, that Iran and Pakistan are determined to fight terrorism in the region, Hasan Askari told IRNA news agency in an interview that close cooperation between Iran and Pakistan to fight terrorism serves the national interests of both countries because both are faced with terrorism. In case of Iran Jundullah partly operated from Balochistan engages in terrorist activities in Iran and if Iran and Pakistan cooperate this challenge can be addressed effectively because Jundullah is also a threat to Pakistan, he believed. Furthermore Iran and Pakistan need to cooperate in stabilizing Afghanistan so that the American exit from the country is expedited, viewed the analyst. Hasan Askari Rizvi was of the view that Iran and Pakistan are members of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and they are neighboring states, therefore cooperation in economic field and trade has lot of sense. He opined that there is a need to complete Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project because Pakistan is short of energy, further Iran has also offered Pakistan to supply electricity. Pakistani authorities should avail this opportunity without any delay or administrative lapses, he advised. Earlier, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Saeed Jalili in a meeting with the visiting Chairman of Pakistan's Senate said that it is necessary for the two countries to prepare a comprehensive plan for bilateral cooperation at regional and international levels. Hasan Askari Rizvi was a visiting Professor of Pakistan Studies at Columbia Universitys School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), and the Allama Iqbal Professor at Heidelberg University, Germany. Until 2001, he was a Professor of Political Science at the Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan.