Sharif to visit Iran on 11th

Published May 6, 2014
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. -File photo
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. -File photo

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will travel to Iran on Sunday in a visit seen as an attempt to improve relations frayed by the kidnapping of Iranian border guards.

The conflict in Syria will also be on the agenda, along with other regional issues.

“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will pay a two-day official visit to Iran from May 11 to 12,” a foreign office official said on Monday.

He said Mr Sharif would hold talks with President Hassan Rouhani on May 11 and was also expected to pay a call on spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei the following day.

“Bilateral relations, the regional political situation and various protocols will come under discussion,” he said.

Relations between the neighbours hit a low following the kidnapping by extremists of five Iranian border guards from Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province in February.

Four of the soldiers were eventually freed and returned home in April.

Officials say the fate of the fifth soldier is unknown but he is assumed to have been killed.

Regional issues, including Syria, will also come up for discussion as mainly Pakistan attempts to balance its relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, analysts say.

Since coming to power last year, Sharif’s government has pivoted sharply toward Saudi Arabia, which granted his country a $1.5 billion loan in March.

The loan contributed to a major recovery of the rupee.

Political analyst Hassan Askari said the visit “appears to be an attempt to remove the misunderstandings developed between the two countries regarding the issues in the Middle East, especially Pakistan’s relations with Saudi Arabia and its position on civil strife in Syria’’.

“Further straining ties, Sharif’s government in February announced it was suspending work on a $7.5 billion pipeline for Iranian gas exports on which work began in 2010.

Pakistan cited US sanctions on Iran for its decision, but Iran insisted its neighbour was contractually obliged to complete the project.—AFP

Opinion

Revival? For whom?

Revival? For whom?

Numerous sets of numbers, not quoted by govt sources, suggest that things are not as dazzling as claimed by those who run the country.

Editorial

Premature alarm
Updated 20 Feb, 2025

Premature alarm

Improvement in headline inflation gives policymakers chance to fix investment policies, implement structural reforms.
Forsaken province
20 Feb, 2025

Forsaken province

AND the endless cycle of violence continues. The brutal killing on Tuesday night of seven Punjab-bound passengers in...
In poor health
20 Feb, 2025

In poor health

THE absence of decent and affordable healthcare in the country continues to ruin lives. An example of this is ...
Out of control
Updated 19 Feb, 2025

Out of control

AS bodies continue to fall in Kurram despite a state-sanctioned ceasefire, one wonders how long local militants’...
Hollow words
19 Feb, 2025

Hollow words

IT is not uncommon for politicians to resort to the use of hyperbole in order to boost their public standing. ...
Migration matters
19 Feb, 2025

Migration matters

THE grass, it seems, did appear greener on the other side to millions of people as evidenced by the latest UN ...