ISLAMABAD: Iran and Pakistan on Monday agreed not to let anyone use their soil against each other, the Pakistani state media reported, days after a string of militant attacks in the southwestern Balochistan province that shares a long and porous border with Iran.
Ten Pakistani soldiers were killed in an attack on a checkpoint in Balochistan’s Kech on January 28, while another nine troops and 20 militants were killed in an operation this month to regain control of two military camps in Panjgur and Noushki from militants of the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
Pakistani officials said militants were launching these attacks from neighboring Afghanistan and Iran, and that they would raise the issue on the diplomatic level with both countries.
On Monday, a nine-member Iranian delegation, led by Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Sheikh Rashid Ahmed in Islamabad, the Radio Pakistan reported.
“The Iranian interior minister strongly condemned recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan and said his country considers terrorist attack on Pakistan as an attack on Iran,” the report read.
“It was agreed that the territory of Pakistan and Iran should not be used for terrorist activities against each other.”
A nine-member Iranian delegation, led by Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi (right), holds talks with his Pakistani counterpart Sheikh Rashid Ahmed (second left) in Islamabad, Pakistan, on February 14, 2022. (Radio Pakistan)
Balochistan, the southwestern Pakistani province which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been marred by an insurgency for the last two decades, fueled by anger that its abundant reserves of natural resources are not relieving citizens from crushing poverty.
Militants often target security forces along Pakistan’s 959-kilometer-long border with Iran. Pakistan has also been erecting a fence along the border, which is expected to be completed within a year.
During Monday’s meeting, Ahmed regretted the rise in terrorist incidents and stressed the need for joint cooperation to thwart them, according to the report.
The two sides agreed to set up markets along the Pakistan-Iran border, increase the number of border terminals and exchanged views on completing the border fencing work at the earliest.
They also discussed the exchange of prisoners, and ways to prevent illegal human immigration and drug trafficking.
In his meeting with Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the two figures discussed the geo-strategic environment, particularly regional security situation and bilateral cooperation in defence and security domains, the Pakistani military's media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said.
"Enhanced cooperation between the two brotherly neighbours is vital for peace and stability in the region," the ISPR quoted General Bajwa as saying.
The army chief highlighted the need to put in collective efforts to "deny any space or liberty of action to be exploited by miscreants along the Pak-Iran border," it added.
Iranian delegation, led by Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi (fourth left), holds talks with Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa (third right) in Islamabad, Pakistan, on February 14, 2022. (ISPR)
The Iranian interior minister also held a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the state-run APP news agency reported.
PM Khan underscored the Pakistan-Iran border was a “border of peace and friendship” and underlined the importance of joint cooperation to address security issues, according to the report.
He stressed early completion and operationalization of border sustenance markets for economic uplift of people living on the either side.
Iranian interior minister Ahmad Vahidi (left) calls on Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan (right) in Islamabad, Pakistan, on February 14, 2022. (PID)
The Pakistani prime minister extended an invitation to President Ebrahim Raisi to visit Pakistan at an early date.
Vahidi arrived in Islamabad on a day-long visit on Monday.
