Iran president Raisi to visit Pakistan on April 22, FM Dar confirms

ISLAMABAD, (NNI): Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is scheduled to visit Pakistan on April 22 for a three-day trip, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed Wednesday.

Taking to media, Dar said that Iranian president visit to Pakistan has nothing to do with the escalating tensions between Tehran and Israel.

"Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's visit to Pakistan was planned before the tensions between Tehran and Tel-Aviv," the foreign minister explained.

As per sources, during his visit, President Raisi will hold meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir.

Discussions are expected to cover topics such as border security, the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, trade, economic cooperation, and mutual areas of interest.

The meetings will also address the broader regional situation. The visit signifies ongoing efforts by both countries to deepen their cooperation, following a temporary setback earlier this year.

A day earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed that the Iranian president's visit is imminent.

In January, relations between the two countries had turned sour after Pakistan, in retaliation to Tehran's cross-border strikes, carried out precision strikes to target terrorists inside Iranian territory.

Pakistan had even withdrawn its ambassador from Iran and announced that it would not allow the Iranian envoy visiting his home country.

The diplomatic ties, however, were soon restored with the ambassadors of the two countries returning to their respective posts.