IT is satisfying that in line with public statements made by the civil and military leadership of the two countries not to allow irritants to spoil their relations, Pakistan and Iran have agreed to expand security cooperation and vowed to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. An understanding to this effect came during comprehensive dialogue of the visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian with Pakistani leadership and publicly acknowledged when the visitor had a presser at Foreign Office along with his Pakistani counterpart Jalil Abbas Jilani, who deserves credit for initiating moves towards de-escalation after reciprocal missile and drone attacks.
Differences do crop up between countries but they are usually sorted out through quiet and sober diplomacy but in the recent case Iran preferred a provocative posture, violating territorial sovereignty of Pakistan, which forced Islamabad to respond in the same manner. The extraordinary and unfortunate development sent a wrong message not only to the people of the two countries but also to the outside world. The two countries have bilateral mechanisms at different levels to discuss and sort out issues but these were not utilized. Now, after talks, they have agreed on establishing a Joint Coordination Mechanism at the level of foreign ministers to oversee and steer progress on a common agenda of prosperity and development. The positive engagement of the two countries after aerial attack and counter attack has also highlighted the fact that they have the will and capability to resolve misunderstandings fairly quickly. Pakistan Foreign Minister said the two sides have agreed to adopt collective and collaborative approaches to confront this menace by fully leveraging the robust institutional mechanisms which already exist between our two countries, adding that respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity remains an immutable and foundational principle of this cooperation. They have also agreed to fight terrorism in their respective areas and allay each other’s concerns. The decision to station military liaison officers at Turbat and Zahidan is a step in the right direction as it would help allay each other’s concerns over incidents of terrorism that keep on occurring and creating fissures in the bilateral relationship. Early implementation of the decision has the potential to bring about an improvement in coordination and efficiency of response against common threats provided these liaise officers are kept in the loop in a timely and comprehensive manner. The Iranian Foreign Minister acknowledged the ground reality when he said that there was no doubt the terrorists located in the common border regions and areas of Iran and Pakistan are led and supported by third countries and they never favour any good action in line with the benefits of the Iranian and Pakistani governments and nations. In this backdrop, one wonders why Iran keeps on pointing accusing fingers towards Pakistan and even starts using threatening language when it knows about spoilers. Based on traditional Iranian thinking on the subject, his remarks might be a reference to the alleged US involvement in acts of violence and terrorism in the border regions but Pakistan also has undeniable evidence of presence of Indian agents on Iranian soil that plan and sponsor terrorism in Pakistan. This aspect needs to be tackled to the satisfaction of Pakistan. In a related development, during a call of the visiting Foreign Minister on Army Chief General Asim Munir, the two sides reaffirmed the resolve to remain closely engaged and not allow any spoilers to drive a wedge between the brotherly nations. The understanding to focus on economic cooperation and trade is also encouraging but here again Tehran needs to have a comprehensive review of its tariff and non-tariff barriers that restrict bilateral trade. Similarly, Iran has so far shown no sensitivity towards Pakistani concerns about free-for-all smuggling of Iranian oil to Pakistan, inflicting heavy losses on the country. The IP gas pipeline project has the potential to give a meaningful boost to the economic cooperation between the two countries but it is also becoming a constant cause for mutual bickering with Tehran frequently threatening to take the matter to arbitration. In view of financial constraints, Pakistan is not expected to undertake the project without support of multilateral institutions which are not forthcoming due to sanctions against Iran. We have been pleading that Iran might consider approval of necessary loans for Pakistan to move ahead with the implementation of this vital project.
