TEHRAN – Pakistan and Iran have jointly vowed to foil any bid for misuse of soil against each other affirming that unity among Muslim countries was necessary to restore peace and security in the present conditions.
Addressing a press conference in Tehran on Tuesday, the Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor stated that Pakistan greatly valued its relations with Iran which have a positive history bonded by history, culture, and religion.
“Pakistan’s relations with Iran are not at the cost of its relations with any other country and vice versa,” the DG ISPR said in a joint presser with the General Staff Officer of the Iranian Army.
He said that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa brought a message of friendship and cooperation to Iran and termed the Pak-Iran Border as the border of peace and friendship.
Commenting on Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan, Major General Ghafoor said that Pakistan wished peace in Afghanistan and supported all initiatives towards this end.
He asserted that there were no terrorist sanctuaries inside Pakistan, and Pakistan had done everything on its side of the border.
DG ISPR noted that Daesh (ISIS) was growing in Afghanistan which was a threat to the entire region.
He maintained that a regional approach was required to defeat this threat adding that Pakistan had taken effective measures on the Pak-Afghan border.
Major Asif Ghafoor also highlighted the preparedness and capacity of armed forces to foil any threat with the support of the Pakistani nation.
“In Pakistan, we say that the prerogative of declaring jihad rests only with the state and the armed forces are a state instrument for its application against anti-state elements,” he observed.
Citing enhanced Pak-Iran border security a matter of mutual interest, the military’s media wing official said that terrorists were likely to exploit the friendly Pak-Iran border.
He also thanked the Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for his supportive statement on Kashmir in line with Pakistan’s demand.
“Kashmir is a long pending dispute between India and Pakistan. Regional peace and security remain at stake unless it’s resolved to the aspiration of Kashmiris in line with the United Nations Resolution,” he added.
The spokesperson also announced that the Pakistan and Iranian army leadership had agreed to continue bilateral engagements for enhanced security cooperation.
He also thanked the Iranian military and government, for the hospitality that they had extended during the visit, on behalf of the COAS.
On the other hand, the Iranian spokesperson also thanked the Pakistani delegation for its visit to Iran and supported suggestions made by COAS Gen Bajwa.
‘Iranian soil shall not be used against Pakistan,’ the Iranian spokesperson assured.
Major General Ghafoor closed the conference by stating that the Pakistani delegation was leaving Iran with ‘positive feelings and strengthening relations.’
