On the eve of the Iranian President’s maiden visit to Pakistan, the gov­ernment of Pakistan as a goodwill gesture has named 11th Avenue in Is­lamabad as the Iran Avenue. This is a unique step as it is the first time any road has been named after the name of a country and not the personality. In Tehran, there is a highway named after our Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This, therefore, marks the urge and sincerity on behalf of both governments to forge further good relations with each other.

The relations between Iran and Paki­stan are deep-rooted. Iran was the first country to recognise Pakistan on its in­ception. Likewise, Pakistan was the first country to recognise Iranian Revo­lution. Pakistan’s national anthem is in the Persian language but one word. Al­lama Iqbal is revered as Iqbal Lahori in Iran for his Persian poetry which forms most of his work. The universities in Iran maintain the Iqbal Chair to accord prominence to the national poet of Pak­istan. Both countries enjoy traditional and cultural affinity. Family norms, hos­pitality style, dresses, cuisines, etc are so much alike. If one visits Iran, most of the doctors employed in the hospitals are found to have been educated in Pak­istan and speak Urdu quite fluently.

Pakistan and Iran share a common border of about 909km which dissects the land of Baluchistan on both sides. People living on either side are Baluch and share a common heritage. Cross-border trade and marriages are a com­mon practice. So many Iranian products are brought inside Pakistan which are cherished by the Pakistanis. Likewise, Pakistani rice, mangoes, and oranges are hot favourite for the Iranians. Irani­an POL products are also brought into Pakistan and people in border areas take benefit of this commodity.

Quite often, news on border issues be­tween both countries has arisen which have been amicably resolved. Both claim there are terrorist outfits that reside in each other’s territory who have nefar­ious designs for the other. In the same trail, Iran in the month of January this year carried out aerial attacks on what it called strongholds of Jaish al Adl. Pak­istan responded within 2 days by strik­ing BLA targets inside Iranian territory. However soon after that, the escalation was controlled and the two sides start­ed talking to each other thus resolving the matter amicably to the extent that President Raisi is visiting Pakistan now. This was a show of deft diplomacy from both sides which can be a textbook ex­ample on how to avoid a predicament between the two countries.

Despite having historical, cultural, and religious roots connected, both coun­tries have not been able to gain much from each other. Iran has the second-largest gas reserves and fourth-largest oil reserves. It has half the population of Pakistan, in double the size of its terri­tory. Among many other things, it grows saffron and olives which contribute sig­nificantly to its economy. The munici­pality system in Iran is a pinnacle of ad­ministration which is truly an emblem of discipline that the Iranian nation exhib­its. The defense relations between both countries are also remarkable. Cross-over training, bilateral maritime exer­cises, naval diplomacy by both navies, and high-level defence visits exchange are all commonplace. There is growing understanding and regard between the two militaries who work in unison, es­pecially at the border areas to defeat the menace of terrorism. Maritime tourism is another avenue that is awaiting the at­tention of both countries to be explored.

The visit of the Iranian President is a significant development on many ac­counts. It is the first-ever visit of Pres­ident Raisi to Pakistan. He is also the first head of state to visit Pakistan af­ter the new government of Pakistan was formed. The visit is amid the increasing hostilities between Iran and Israel and is therefore being closely watched by for­eign observers. The visit is also impor­tant since Pakistan recently decided to revive the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline even if it has to seek a US waiver. It is be­ing speculated that the issues of border management and IP gas pipeline will top the agenda. Of course these are the two most burning issues, yet there are many avenues that both countries can take ad­vantage of each other and learn from the best practices that they carry out.

Universally, the cheapest trade is with one’s neighbours. This principle of eco­nomics is simple and worth trying by both Iran and Pakistan. There are cer­tain impediments in fully realising the true economic potential on both sides, yet ways and means exist that can be exploited to overcome this handicap. Both sides must therefore focus on their strategy to create economic stakes in each other which will produce sever­al dividends. Not that the economies of both countries will be strengthened but the people-to-people contact will also be enhanced which will be bene­ficial in understanding of each other. Also, in the realm of geopolitics, coun­tries having sound economies can play a better and more effective role. Given the current situation in the Middle East in which Palestinians are being brutally butchered by Israel, there is conclusive evidence for strengthening economies of Muslim countries to play a substan­tive role in world politics.

Reema Shaukat
The writer works as Communication Strategist at the Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad and can be reached at reema.asim81
@gmail.com