Pakistan has told Iran it will not become part of any group against Tehran ahead of President Hassan Rouhani’s visit starting Friday.
Pakistan has told Iran it will not become part of any group against Tehran ahead of President Hassan Rouhani’s visit starting Friday.
President Rouhani arrives in Islamabad on Friday for a two day official to Pakistan. He is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
This will be Mr Rouhani’s first visit to Pakistan as the President of Iran. The Iranian President will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers, senior officials and businessmen.
According to the foreign office spokesperson, the Iranian President will hold meetings with the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
“The leadership will have an exchange of views on strengthening bilateral relations, particularly after lifting of the sanctions on Iran that has opened new avenues for enhancing economic interaction,” he said.
“Cooperation on regional and international issues of mutual concern will also be discussed,” he added.
On Tuesday, Iranian ambassador to Pakistan Mehdi Honardoost said President Rouhani will visit Pakistan this week which will provide an opportunity to both the countries to discuss important issues.
Recently, Pakistan lifted sanctions against Iran, following the international sanctions after the country’s nuclear deal with world powers.
At the start of this year, Pakistan initiated efforts to ease Iran-Saudi Arabia tensions after Saudi Arabia executed 47 people on terrorism charges, including Nimr al-Nimr, a Shia religious leader, and Fares Al-Shuwail al-Zahrani, a convicted Al Qaeda leader.
The execution of Nimr spurred Iranian demonstrators into ransacking the Saudi embassy in Tehran, prompting several Saudi allies to break off diplomatic ties with Iran. Prime Minister Sharif has since been in contact with the top Iran and Saudi leadership to defuse the tension. He held talks with Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz and President Rouhani convincing them to resolve the disputes.
