ISLAMABAD: Iran’s Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian has arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed on Monday, amid strained ties between the two neighbors over recent tit-for-tat strikes and days after gunmen killed nine Pakistanis in southeast Iran.
The deceased Pakistanis, who had been working as laborers, were killed in Iran’s restive southeastern border area of Saravan on Saturday, according to relatives of the victims. The Saravan attack came a day after Pakistani and Iranian ambassadors returned to their posts after being recalled when both countries exchanged missile strikes last week at what they said were militant targets.
The strikes were the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years. However, both Iran and Pakistan quickly moved to de-escalate tensions following a telephonic conversation between their foreign ministers.
On his arrival, the Iranian foreign minister was greeted by Pakistan’s additional foreign secretary for Afghanistan and West Asia, Rahim Hayat Qureshi, Iran’s envoy to Pakistan, and other officials.
“Foreign Minister of Iran Abdollahian has arrived in Islamabad at the invitation of Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani,” Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said in a statement.
“During the visit, Foreign Minister Abdollahian will hold in-depth talks with Foreign Minister Jilani and call on Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar,” she added.
The two foreign ministers are also scheduled to hold a joint press briefing after their meeting in Islamabad.
Asked about the significance of the visit, Naghmana Hashmi, a former Pakistani diplomat, said it was important with regard to the recent developments and their possible impact on the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
In the last few decades, she noted, both countries had seen a rise in militancy, which needed to be addressed at the highest level.
“There have been some issues which have more to do with the overall geostrategic and geopolitical situation that has evolved, particularly in our neighborhood,” she told Arab News.
“After the recent attacks, the two governments promptly established contact, initiating a hectic diplomatic effort, as we cannot afford to have either Iran or Pakistan open another front in the region.”
Hashmi said any military action between the two neighbors would not only impact Pakistan but also extend consequences to Iran and the broader Middle East region.
“It is important to sit down and discuss common concerns and find ways out to address them,” she added.
Syed Muhammad Ali, a Pakistani security expert, said the visit would allow both countries to timely address bilateral issues, particularly the recent rise in militant attacks and the killing of Pakistani nationals in Saravan.
“Pakistan expects Iran to timely identify those responsible and bring them to justice and ensure that such terrorist attacks neither affect the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran nor harm major regional economic, trade and connectivity projects which will benefit both nations,” he told Arab News.
