Pak-Iran relations

Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa arrived in Tehran on Monday as part of an ongoing mutual trust building process. According to an Iranian news agency report, the two sides discussed prospects of expansion of defence cooperation, border security, counterterrorism cooperation, promotion of border trade exchange and convergence among Muslim countries. Although there is no territorial or political dispute between the two countries, relations during the recent years have been under considerable strain because of terrorist groups using the two countries' - mostly Pakistan's - border regions to launch attacks on the other side.

Since assumption of office, Prime Minister Imran Khan has assigned due importance to renewal of friendly relations with Iran. Khan visited Iran twice during this year. Last April while addressing a joint news conference alongside President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran, he emphasised the need for having trust in each other. The most important reason, he said, he had come for a visit was the realisation that the issue of terrorism was widening a real or perceived chasm between the two countries. A joint rapid reaction force for the border areas was established in addition to an upgraded security mechanism for heightened border surveillance. The two sides also resolved to enhance bilateral trade by setting up barter markets and maintaining barter accounts. A committee set up last July for the purpose has been busy identifying goods for mutual trade and also for the removal of potential bottlenecks in the way forward.

Pakistan's warming up to Iran without jeopardizing its special relationship with Saudi Arabia is also paying off on the diplomatic front. While in the US for last September's UN General Assembly session, Imran Khan told reporters President Donald Trump had asked him to help defuse tensions with Iran, and that he had immediately spoken with President Rouhani. He also disclosed that during his stopover in Riyadh, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman had asked him to talk to the Iranian president. He refused to say, though, what was discussed except that "we're trying to mediate". Later in October, he went on a peace mission first to Iran where President Rouhnai while welcoming "any gesture by Pakistan for peace in the region", and mentioning the issues they discussed, including the war in Yemen, US sanctions, and wrangling over his country's nuclear programme, went on to emphasise that "any goodwill gesture (from the US and the kingdom) will be responded with goodwill gesture and good words". Two days later, the prime minister headed to Saudi kingdom. Although as usual Saudi leaders made no public statement, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said it had been agreed that differences would be resolved through dialogue. And that Pakistan also offered to host talks between the two countries. Given that background, it is hardly surprising that Gen Bajwa's agenda included discussion of 'convergence among Muslim countries'. Whatever the future prospects of rapprochement between the two regional rivals, Pakistan has been wise to carefully maintain its long-standing policy of staying impartial in that region's internal conflicts and feuds.