ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian led a diplomatic delegation to pay an official visit to Pakistan to discuss with Pakistani officials the fight against terrorism and bilateral relations, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said yesterday, reported Russian news agency Sputnik.
Last week, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said the country's top diplomat invited Amirabdollahian to visit Islamabad, adding that the Iranian minister accepted the invitation.
"Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian departed Tehran for Islamabad, leading a delegation… During this trip, and in the context of the good neighbourliness, fraternal and friendly relations between the two countries, as well as the comprehensive strengthening of cooperation in commercial, industrial, scientific, academic, security and energy fields, Amirabdollahian will engage in consultations with Pakistani authorities," the ministry said in a statement.
The statement added that the parties would discuss the fight against terrorism along the common border and efforts to establish peace and security.
On January 16, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles and drones at Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, saying it was targeting a base of the Jaish al-Adl terrorist group, which claimed responsibility for a deadly attack at a police station in Iran last month.
Later, Pakistan carried out overnight precision strikes against "terrorist hideouts" in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Pakistan respects Iran's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and carried out the strikes with the sole purpose of defending its own security and national interests, echoing the tone of the Iranian Foreign Ministry's statement following the Revolutionary Guard Corps strikes.
On Friday (January 26), the ambassadors of Iran and Pakistan returned to their respective posts in each other's countries after they were recalled due to the strikes. — Bernama