Iranian FM holds meetings with COAS, PM, FM in day-long visit to Islamabad n General Syed Asim Munir underscores centrality of respecting other state’s sovereignty, territorial integrity n Iranian FM says Islamabad, Tehran respect each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity.

ISLAMABAD  -  Foreign Minister of Iran Amir Abdollahian called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir NI (M) COAS at GHQ on Monday.

ealising the historical, religious and cultural ties that bind Pakistan and Iran, both sides emphasised on strengthening bilateral ties and fostering greater understanding of each other’s concerns.

According to a press release issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), COAS underscored the centrality of respecting the other state’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, calling it sacrosanct, inviolable and the most important cardinal of stateto- state relationship.

The two sides observed that terrorism was common threat that needed to be tackled through collaborative efforts, better coordination and intelligence sharing. COAS emphasised the need for sustained engagement and utilising available communication channels to address security concerns. Both sides agreed to operationalise the mechanism of deployment of military liaison officers in each other’s country at an early date to improve co­ordination and efficiency of re­sponse against common threats. 

Both sides reaffirmed the re­solve to remain closely engaged and not allow any spoilers to drive a wedge between the brotherly nations. Pakistan and Iran are fraternal neighbours and the destiny of both nations are intertwined. Both sides re­iterated their commitment to peace, stability and prosperity in the border region which was identified as an indispensable requirement for the well-being of people living on both sides.

‘Agreement to fight terrorism’

Pakistan and Iran Tuesday re­solved to expand their cooper­ation especially in the political and security domains.

This understanding came at a meeting between Foreign Min­ister Jalil Abbas Jilani and Ira­nian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Islamabad on Monday. Later addressing a joint news conference, Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said that the threat of terrorism pos­es a common challenge to both the countries. He said we have agreed to adopt collective and collaborative approaches to confront this menace by full le­veraging the robust institution­al mechanism that already ex­ists between the two countries.

Jalil Abbas Jilani said respect for sovereignty and territori­al integrity remains the funda­mental principle of this coop­eration.

Sharing important outcomes of the meeting with the Iranian counterpart, Jalil Abbas Jilani said we have agreed to estab­lish a high level consultative mechanism at the level of the foreign ministers which will meet alternatively in both Iran and Pakistan on regular basis to oversee the progress that is being made in various areas of our cooperation.

The foreign minister said there was an agreement to co­operate to fight terrorism in our respected areas. We need to address and allay each other’s concerns with regard to terror­ism, and in this connection, the two sides have agreed to station the liaison officers at the earli­est date. These liaison officers, he said, will be deployed in Tur­bat and Zahedan.

The foreign minister said both the sides have agreed to prior­itise economic uplift and devel­opment of our border areas. He said it has been agreed to fast track operationalisation of five remaining border markets.

Jalil Abbas Jilani said the two sides recognised that close rela­tionship between our two coun­tries is not only imperative for shared prosperity and develop­ment of our peoples but also an important source of stability for the region. He said this bilater­al relationship is underpinned by strong bonds of amity and brotherhood.

In his remarks, the Iranian Foreign Minister said both the countries enjoy great cultural, geographical and historic com­monalities. He said given the history of these relations, there have never been any territorial differences or border problems. He said this is a manifestation of our good bilateral relations. He said they in fact are a single nation located in two different geographical positions.

The Iranian foreign minister said his country considers Pa­kistan’s security as the securi­ty of Iran and the whole region. The Iranian foreign minister also said that both the countries strongly respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of each other. He categorically stated that through joint cooperation, the two countries will not allow the terrorists to endanger our common security. 

The Iranian foreign minister said we have agreed that our borders will be translated into borders of trade, development and progress.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahi­an said the two sides have also agreed to expand pilgrimage tourism and finalise projects on energy cooperation. The Iranian foreign minister also appreciat­ed Pakistan’s stance in support of Palestinian people.

PM reaffirms Pakistan’s com­mitment to strengthen ties with Iran Foreign Minister of Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Monday called on Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and discussed matters of mutual interest.

Underscoring close relations between Pakistan and Iran, the prime minister reaffirmed Pa­kistan’s commitment to further consolidate bilateral ties.

He also emphasized the need to address common challenges through collaborative and co­operative approaches, rooted in the respect for international law and the principles of the Unit­ed Nations Charter, in particu­lar territorial integrity and sov­ereignty of both Pakistan and Iran. The prime minister con­veyed his warm sentiments for President Ebrahim Raisi and ex­tended an invitation for him to visit Pakistan at his earliest con­venience.

‘LIAISON OFFICERS FOR SECURITY COOPERATION’

Pakistan and Iran have agreed to immediately appoint liai­son officers in Turbat and Za­hidan to further strengthen on­going security and intelligence cooperation. An understand­ing to this effect came during the meeting of Caretaker For­eign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian, in Islamabad today. Underscor­ing the brotherly relations be­tween Pakistan and Iran, For­eign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani reaffirmed Pakistan’s commit­ment to deepen and broaden the existing wide-ranging coopera­tion with Iran. The Foreign Min­ister underlined the imperative for collective and collaborative approaches to confront terror­ism that posed a common chal­lenge to both Pakistan and Iran.

He stressed that robust institu­tional mechanisms between the two countries on security coop­eration should be fully leveraged. The two Foreign Ministers agreed to expand initiatives for econom­ic and development cooperation including through early opera­tionalization of the joint border markets to uplift the socio-eco­nomic status of the people of both countries, especially those resid­ing in the border regions.