IANS | 15 Apr, 2024
Amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel after Tehran’s major
and unprecedented missile and drone attack, bringing the region on the
edge, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi is set to land in Pakistan on
April 22.
Sources said that Islamabad and Tehran have agreed
upon the matters pertaining to President Raisi’s visit who will be
accompanied by a high-level delegation and would hold meeting with top
officials in the Pakistan government including President Asif Ali
Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the military leadership.
Iran
President’s visit to Pakistan comes after Tehran launched over 300
drones and missiles on Israel in what it calls a retaliation to Israel’s
airstrike in the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria claiming lives of
senior commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Mohammad
Reza Zahedi and senior commander Hadi Haj Rahimi.
The visit
also holds great importance to Pakistan as it comes after Tehran
carried out cross-border strikes inside Pakistani territory, claiming to
have targeted anti-Iran insurgent groups.
Islamabad
responded within 24 hours carrying out a tit-for-tat approach to Iran’s
aggression and conducing cross-border airstrikes on the Iranian side
killing members of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). Iran later
announced that those killed in Pakistani airstrikes are non-Iranians.
It
would be the first time that Iranian President would be landing in
Islamabad post January airstrikes, which had put relationship between
both countries in a fix temporarily. During the time, Pakistan even
withdrew its ambassador from Iran and stated that it would not allow the
Iranian envoy to return to Pakistan.
And even though both
sides soon restored diplomatic ties allowing respective diplomats to
return to their respective posts; relations remained under question.
Iranian
President visit becomes even more crucial for Pakistan as the agenda of
the visit is focused on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline and the
Free-Trade Agreement (FTA).
In a show of goodwill gesture,
Iran’s President has also approved the release of Pakistanis stranded on
a ship seized by the Iranian forces.
Official sources say
the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline will remain as the top agenda of
the delegation level meetings as both sides are actively looking to
complete the important project.
It is also believed that
Iran’s airstrikes on Israel would also come under discussion and
Pakistan would put forward its call for restraint.
