Cordial ties with Iran necessary for Pakistan: Pak media

They have advised Islamabad government that maintaining cordial ties with Iran as a strong neighbor, is quite necessary for Pakistan.

Leading Pakistani news papers ‘Dawn’ and ‘The Nation’ in their editorial comments said that although recent border attack was a bitter incident for Iran but the country wisely preferred the diplomatic path instead of deteriorating the situation. Therefore Tehran sent a very high level security delegation to Islamabad and got very strong assurances from top Pakistani military and political leaders regarding the border security.

On April 26 nine Iranian border guards were martyred and two others injured by terrorists near Pakistani border in southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan, when they were patrolling at the zero border point.

The terrorists after the killings and abducting one Iranian border guard fled to Pakistan’s territories.

After the border incident Pakistani media were expecting a strong reaction from Iran but they witnessed that Iran took no other path, but diplomacy, because Iran strongly believes in dialogue and diplomacy as the best way to solve different issues.

This is not the first time that Pakistani media is admiring the diplomacy of the Iranian government. When Iran signed a nuclear deal with the six world powers two years back, Pakistani media also at that time applauded the diplomatic efforts of the Iranian government to reach a peaceful settlement with the West.

‘The Nation’ said that Iran is one of the key allies that Pakistan has within the region, and it is necessary for Pakistan to keep its cordial ties with neighboring Iran.

The Pakistani paper added that despite its good relations with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan must develop strong ties with Iran.

'While the protection of Saudi Arabia is very dear to us, it must also be understood that in times of conflict, the support of our immediate neighbors is essential,' it wrote.

It noted that despite the Shia community being regularly targeted in Pakistan, Iran has not interfered in the affairs of Pakistan.

“It was the right move to revive the hotline between the border forces of the two nations to resolve all issues, and to emphasize the importance of fraternal relations with Iran,” it said.

The editorial went on to say that there are several areas in which the two countries can cooperate; signing of the Banking and Payment Agreement (BPA) between the central banks of the two states to facilitate trade was one.

“At the same time, declaring Gwadar and Chabahar as sister ports will improve the bilateral ties,” it said.

Another daily ‘Dawn’ was of the view that diplomacy has always prevailed between Iran and Pakistan on border issues and the credit must go to both sides.

The paper said that Iran expressed its concerns through diplomatic channels on border attack and demonstrated it was willing to follow up with meaningful interactions.

“Where Afghanistan and India have refused to talk to Pakistan, the Iranians quickly sent a high-level delegation led by its globally respected foreign minister. A full day of meetings yielded a clear set of understandings for both sides and cooperative solutions in the form of better border coordination and an increase in the strength of border forces by Pakistan,” it said.

The newspaper argued that neither the border problems nor the overall strategic concerns will be solved overnight, but it is a welcome sign that Iran and Pakistan have turned to greater diplomatic engagement.

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