Pak-iran ties have improved significantly, says Qureshi

TEHRAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday said the relations between Pakistan and Iran had taken a new turn in the direction of positivity and co-operation.

In a video statement issued on the conclusion of his visit to the Iranian capital, the foreign minister said the fraternal relations between the two countries had deepened.

Before leaving for Mashhad on Thursday, the foreign minister explained the most important points of his meetings in Tehran and talks with high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Expressing satisfaction on his fruiful meetings with President Hassan Rouhani, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Qureshi said the two sides have observed that in the last three years, Iran-pakistan relations have progressed very pleasantly.

The Iranian president agreed that bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran had improved over the past two-and-a-half years.

Referring to the problem of extremism against Islam in Western countries he said the parliaments of Iran and Pakistan would take co-ordinated steps to combat Islamophobia and develop a joint strategy in this regards.

Qureshi added Pakistan is deeply concerned about the escalation of anti-islamic sentiments in Western countries and extremism against Muslims and emphasised the need for a joint strategy of Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia to combat hatred and insult against Islamic sanctities. He went on to say the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf emphasised the need for co-operation between the parliaments of the two countries in this area.

On the situation in Afghanistan, he said both sides had greater consensus on the issue for efforts towards peace and stability.

Qureshi said the Iranian side updated him regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) talks with the United States. He described the signing of the agreement on the establishment of joint border markets between Iran and Pakistan as the beginning of a new phase in the development of relations between the two countries.