Pakistan has to watch for its own interests, Malik said during a recent interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
And if you watch your own interests, your neighbors are more important, more than anybody else, he added.
“I think interaction between the two countries is very important to enhance bilateral ties”, the senator of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) said, referring to frequent high-level exchange of visits between the two friendly countries.
Malik said now that the United States has put Iran under sanctions, Islamabad must support Tehran.
You cannot bully people in the world, the Pakistani lawmaker said, referring to the unilateral US withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposition of sanctions against Iran and threatening other countries that continue to engage with Iran with secondary sanctions.
Even the European allies of the US have not said yes to the sanctions, he said.
He went on to reiterate that Pakistan has no other option but to boost trade relations with Iran.
“We have already signed agreement with Iran regarding import and export, how can those agreements which have been signed already can be stopped or will be affected with the new [US unilateral] sanctions,” he said.
Malik added that these are the sanctions from one country, they are not from the UN.
So government of Pakistan has to asses intelligently what is good for Pakistan, he said.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Pakistani former interior minister urged the governments of Pakistan, Afghanistan as well as the world community, to help Iran investigate the September 22 Ahvaz terror attack, which claimed lives of 25 innocent people, in the country's southwestern city.
The Ahvaz terror attack is terrible and a scar on the face of whole Muslim world because what has happened to Iran, tomorrow will happen to other countries.
He said the game is being played by the West in terms of getting entire Muslim Ummah under terrorist attacks through different organizations.
“We all know from where Daesh (ISIS) and other terrorist organizations in the region are coming from,” he said.
“This incident is an eye opener for every Muslim. I hope that all the Muslim World, especially the OIC take the cognizance of that,” the chairman of think tank ‘Global Eye’ said.
Malik went on to say that if two people unfortunately die in the West the whole world trembles, the whole world rings bell everywhere.
Why there is no bell ringing in this case, the Interpol is sleeping and there has been no initiative to have it investigated, he said referring to Ahvaz terrorist attack.
“I would like to appeal my government, government of Afghanistan and other governments that whatever help is required for Iran to investigate the matter they should do it,” he said.
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