News Analysis |
Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani has expressed concern over the closing of the Taftan Border and called for the opening of the border trade. He said this while talking to the Ambassador of Iran Mehdi Honardoost, who called on him at the Parliament House on Friday. The ambassador assured his all-out cooperation for opening up the border for border trade, as early as possible.
The Senate Chairman said that Pakistan and Iran share common conditions, socials aspirations, and religious values and have supported each other on international issues as well as development agendas. He further stated that the two states share a common dream of development and prosperity of people as the relationship between the countries are embedded in history, since Iran was quick to reach out to the newly creating Pakistan in 1947.
Muhammad Sadiq Sanjarni expressed the need for parliamentary linkages which will not only strengthen the countries but also improve the potential of enhancing their economic cooperation. This can further cerement the bilateral relations between the nations. He said that Pakistan attaches the highest importance to its historic relations with Iran and is looking forward to further enhancing the traditional ties for better economic and political collaboration.
Read more: Pakistan and Iran keen to promote trading ties despite tensions
The Chairman Senate said that Pakistan and Iran have always cooperated with each other at the International Forums and have adopted a unified stance on different issues. “The recent years have witnessed enhanced cooperation in defense and security areas,” Sanjrani observed. The Iranian Ambassador agreed with the views of the Chairman Senate and stressed on further boosting cooperation in different sectors through enhanced interaction.
Chairman Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani has expressed concern over the closing of the Taftan Border and called for the opening of the border trade. He said this while talking to the Ambassador of Iran Mehdi Honardoost, who called on him at the Parliament House on Friday.
Earlier this year, similar attempts were made as both sides showed interest in improving cooperation especially in terms of the banking sector, while both countries expressed satisfaction over the Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Moreover, commonality of viewpoints were found on various issues – national and international – with both sides confirming their cooperation in all sectors.
This is a new step towards cooperation since the three-day visit of the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to India caused a lot of tensions between the two neighbors. Therefore, it is safe to say that the relations between Pakistan and Iran have not always remain ideal. This is due to the dilemma both countries face – operating under a trust deficit. With a history of half measures taken to improve ties, the relationship does not consist of any long-term impacts on mutual confidence-building in real terms.
Read more: Rising Iranian-Pakistani tensions: Is Pakistan’s “house of cards” going to collapse?
Therefore, while some high-level interactions have improved the relationship between the two nations through reciprocal gestures, they have been very short-lived. It is a huge improvement to see both Pakistan and Iran working towards eliminating their trust deficit, enabling an environment for long-term confidence building and economic prosperity. Both countries must continue taking initiative and make their positions on significant matters – International and national – apparent to each other.
Historically, Iran has been supporting Pakistan in the Kashmiri cause but it has not openly voiced its stance at international forums. Therefore, to further strengthen their relations, Iran must be bold and openly support its brotherly Muslim country while Pakistan must try to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran to lower hostilities between the two.