Pakistan to work with Iran on border issues: COAS

Published July 16, 2023
Chief of the Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir (L) and Chief of General Staff for the Armed Forces of Iran Mohammad Bagheri (R) meet in Tehran on Saturday. — Photo courtesy PTV News
Chief of the Army Staff Gen Syed Asim Munir (L) and Chief of General Staff for the Armed Forces of Iran Mohammad Bagheri (R) meet in Tehran on Saturday. — Photo courtesy PTV News

KARACHI: Chief of the Army Staff Gen Asim Munir met Iran’s top military leaders on Saturday to discuss bilateral matters relating to defence and security cooperation and stressed that Pakistan was ready to solidify the ties and use the most suitable solutions to address security challenges and the presence and activities of terrorist elements at the border.

Gen Munir, who reached Iran on a two-day visit on Saturday with a high-ranking military delegation, met Iran’s top general, Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, in Tehran and discussed ways to improve bilateral interactions “to develop the level of cooperation in different fields, including defence, security, military and training”, Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported.

During the exchange, Mr Bagheri highlighted the “historical background of the two neighbouring countries as a basis for the expansion of bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields”, the report said.

He stressed the importance of developing military relations between Tehran and Islamabad, calling for increased training interactions and joint defence and security relations between the two countries at the regional level.

On his arrival in Tehran, Gen Munir was received by Maj Gen Abdolrahim Mousavi, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, Mehr said.

In the meeting, both sides discussed and examined avenues for an increase in bilateral interactions, strengthening of the security on shared borders and an increase in educational interactions and defence and security relations at the regional level.

‘Pakistan’s security our own security’

Gen Munir also met Major General Hossein Salami, the chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), who said Iran gave utmost importance to Pakistan’s security.

“We consider Pakistan’s security as our security and by expanding interactions, cooperation and joint actions, we will end the existence of terrorist groups and establish stable security in the shared border areas,” Gen Salami was quoted as saying by the Mehr News Agency.

The IRGC commander-in-chief said his forces were ready to turn the two countries’ borders into economic borders for economic and trade activities.

Gen Munir expressed his satisfaction with his visit to Iran and emphasised the importance of increasing defence and security interactions between the two countries.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

Madressah politics
Updated 11 Dec, 2024

Madressah politics

The curriculum taught must be free of hate and prejudice, while madressah students need to be taught life skills to later contribute to economy.
Targeting travellers
11 Dec, 2024

Targeting travellers

THE country’s top tax authority seems to have run out of good ideas. According to news reports, the Federal Board...
Grieving elephants
11 Dec, 2024

Grieving elephants

FOR most, the news will perhaps not even register. Another elephant has died in captivity in Pakistan. The death is...
Syria’s future
Updated 10 Dec, 2024

Syria’s future

Today, HTS — a ‘reformed’ radical outfit once associated with Al Qaeda — is in a position to be the leading power broker in Syria.
Rights in peril
10 Dec, 2024

Rights in peril

IN Pakistan’s fraught landscape of human rights infringements, misery hangs in the air. What makes this year’s...
Learning from AJK
10 Dec, 2024

Learning from AJK

THE recent events in Azad Kashmir are a powerful example of how dialogue can play a constructive role in effectively...