ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Iran emphasized the need for coordinated efforts by the Islamic countries to bring an end to the ongoing massacre and crimes of Israel against humanity in Gaza.
In a telephone call on Wednesday that lasted almost 45 minutes, President Dr Arif Alvi of Pakistan and President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran underscored the need for coordinated and collective efforts by the Islamic countries to bring an end to the ongoing massacre and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
President Dr Alvi voiced deep concern over the dire situation in the occupied Palestine including Gaza as a result of ongoing Israeli aggression and occupation. The president regretted that despite the deaths of over 19,000 Palestinians including women and children, the UN Security Council has failed to impose a ceasefire and bring an end to the unspeakable Israeli atrocities.
The president reiterated that a just solution to the Palestinian question based on an independent and contiguous Palestinian State with Al-Quds-Al-Sharif as capital was critical for lasting peace in the Middle East.
The president reaffirmed Pakistan’s support to all diplomatic initiatives to this end and appreciated Iran’s concerns and initiatives about the ongoing situation. He also appreciated the Iranian leadership for its principled stance on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and its support to the Palestinian cause.
The president conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the government and brotherly people of Iran over the heinous terrorist attack on an Iranian police station in Sistan-Baluchistan on 15 December 2023. He expressed Pakistan’s resolve to work with Iran to combat terrorism.
The two leaders discussed bilateral economic cooperation. President Alvi termed the joint inauguration of Mand-Pishin Border Sustenance Market place and Gabd-Polan Electricity Transmission Line as tangible developments that would further strengthen bilateral ties between the two brotherly countries.
The two leaders agreed that Pakistan and Iran were brotherly Islamic countries, sharing the same culture, religion and history. They agreed to work together for further improving economic, trade and cultural relations between the two brotherly countries.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023