Former President Asif Ali Zardari has welcomed as 'pragmatic and wise' the agreement between Iran and the western countries easing a long festering stand-off that had the potential to threaten peace in the region. The Pakistan People's Party has always stressed that dialogue, negotiations and diplomacy be employed to resolve the issue in the interest of peace and security and is heartened that dialogue was used to arrive at the agreement, he said in a statement on Wednesday. "It is a triumph of sanity and a triumph for all".
He said the agreement arrived at in Geneva and the relaxation in sanctions against Iran should also open the doors of further deepening cooperation particularly in the energy sector between Pakistan and Iran. The government should use the opening provided by the Iran agreement to persuade friendly countries to finance the IP gas pipeline project, the former President said. He said the two latest developments in the region namely the easing of tension between Iran and the west on the one hand and the endorsement by Afghan Loya Jirga of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) between Afghanistan and US were significant for Pakistan in many ways.