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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal, replying to a question posed by IRNA at his weekly news briefing in Islamabad, added Iran and Pakistan, being next door neighbors, enjoy close brotherly relations, anchored in history, culture and people to people relations.
The US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington would pull out of Iran nuclear deal and reinstate sanctions which had been lifted under the accord.
The first round of the sanctions snapped back into place in August, with the second round which will aim the energy and oil sector taking effect on November 5.
Spokesperson Mohammad Faisal opined that Pakistan has supported Iran in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“We will see how the situation develops after the imposition of the US sanctions to steer the bilateral relations in a smooth manner,” he said.
Mohammad Faisal went on to say that the US has granted concessions from sanctions to eight different countries, that are major importers of oil from Iran including India; however, Pakistan’s import of oil from Iran is quite limited at present.
“The exports from Pakistan to Iran mainly consist of food items, textile etc, which are not affected by these sanctions,” he pointed out.
To another question of IRNA, he said Pakistan is closely cooperating with Iranian authorities to help recover the abducted border guards.
On October 16, terrorists had kidnapped the Iranian forces, including local Basij volunteer forces and border guards, near the town of Mirjaveh on the Pakistani border.
Mohammad Faisal also denied reports that Aasia Bibi, Christian woman, acquitted of blasphemy, had left Pakistan, saying she is still in the country.
'There is no truth in reports of her leaving the country — it is fake news,' Mohammad Faisal said.
Responding to a question about the proposed peace talks in Moscow over Afghanistan, the foreign ministry spokesperson said a Pakistan delegation, led by an additional secretary, will attend the dialogue.
The spokesperson said Taliban leader Mullah Bradar was released to give an impetus to the peace and reconciliation process in Afghanistan.
He said Pakistan has always been emphasizing the need for seeking a negotiated settlement of the Afghan issue with the participation of all the stake holders.
He added that it is a matter of concern that a recent American report points out that the Afghan administration and the foreign forces are losing their control over the security situation in Afghanistan.
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