The top military leadership of Pakistan and neighbouring Iran agreed to step up cooperation and intelligence sharing and take “effective actions” to prevent attacks by separatist militants along their porous border, Pakistani officials have said.
The agreement was reached during a visit by Pakistan’s powerful army chief Gen. Asim Munir to Tehran over the weekend, officials said on Monday.
Munir travelled to Tehran on a two-day visit following a surge in attacks in the country’s southwestern Baluchistan province, which shares a long border with Afghanistan and Iran.
Pakistan’s relations with Iran have witnessed ups and downs in recent years because of cross-border attacks by militants, using Pakistani territory.
Small separatist groups have been behind a long-running insurgency calling for gas and oil-rich Baluchistan’s independence from the central government in Islamabad.
Anti-Iran militants have also targeted the Iranian border in recent years, increasing friction between the countries.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani walks with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan during a welcome ceremony in Tehran, Iran, April 22, 2019. Photo: REUTERS
Pakistani PM Imran Khan’s visit to Iran, the first since he took office last year, comes after gunmen who Islamabad says were based in Iran killed 14 members of Pakistan’s security forces last week in Balochistan province.
READ: Iran, Pakistan to set up border ‘reaction force’ after attacks
Intelligence sharing
In a statement, Pakistan’s military said that Munir met with the Iranian army’s chief of staff, Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, and called on Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. It said the sides agreed that terrorism was a common threat.
“They vowed to eradicate (the) menace of terrorism in the border areas through intelligence sharing and effective actions against the terrorists’ networks, and explore avenues for enhancing cooperation in the security domain,” the statement said.
The visit also comes as tensions have increased between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers, who have been accused by Islamabad of sheltering a key terrorist group called Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.
The group has become emboldened since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.
The meeting comes after Iran and Saudi Arabia, long-time rivals, restored ties earlier this year in a Chinese-brokered agreement. Photo: AP
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif met to enhance economic ties in the first interaction of its kind between the two countries since 2013.
READ: Pakistan, Iran top leaders meet after 10 years, inaugurate border market
Source: TRT World. 18 July 2023