TEHERAN: Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto told a … Press conference here today [July 8] that there was “no parallel” to friendliness and informality of Pakistan-Iran relations and whenever the need arises Iranian assistance is always available. The [PM] … appeared happy and relaxed... . … Mr Bhutto said Pakistan desired to tackle her problems with India on bilateral basis. The two countries were making efforts to normalise their relations and had also achieved results. … Questioned about the Indian accession to multilateral arrangements like the RCD, Mr Bhutto ... stated that until the Kashmir dispute was settled it would be a ... counter-productive move.

He also said that RCD had common faith and common culture and he had no objection to Afghanistan’s entry into the organisation, but he believed that the Afghans would not like to come in because it was a non-aligned country... . ... He hoped India would also appreciate Pakistan’s need for security and its … needs and defensive capability would not be misunderstood. … Mr Bhutto … said that the informal visits between [Iran and Pakistan] had become “an established pattern”. — News agencies

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2026