Iranian envoy for counter-terrorism cooperation

ISLAMABAD: Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Mr Mehdi Honardoost has called for putting counter-terrorism cooperation at the top of Pak-Iran bilateral agenda.

The ambassador was speaking on ‘Pak-Iran Relations: Current scenario and future prospects’ at Islamabad Policy Institute (IPI).

“Iran and Pakistan are victims of terrorism. This concern should be at the top of the agenda of negotiations and consultations between the relevant authorities.”

The envoy made this comment in the context of last month’s bomb attack on Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps in the bordering ‘Sistan and Baluchestan Province’, the abduction of border guards in Oct 2018, and similar terrorism incidents in the past.

Honardoost said the “hand of a third party” was evident in these incidents. About the “third party”, he said it was the “one that was not easy with brotherly and friendly ties between Pakistan and Iran” and was also involved with patronizing “extremism and terrorism”.

He said he was confident that Pakistan and Iran would together foil the sinister designs of “the third party”.

Speaking about the recent conversation between Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Rouhani, Mr Honardoost said, the two leaders had reaffirmed their pledge to cooperate for border security.

He said Iran was having good communication with Pakistan on all issues. The two countries, he said, were exploring new areas of cooperation.