• Both agree to station liaison officers in Turbat, Zahedan; implement security accords
• Iran’s foreign minister blames ‘third country’ for presence of militants near border
• Islamabad, Tehran to turn their boundary into ‘border of trade and development’

ISLAMABAD: In a move to bolster cross-border security and intelligence collaboration, Pak­is­tan and Iran agreed on Monday to station liaison officers in border areas and renewed their commitment to fully enforce the existing security pacts for addressing cross-border terrorism.

The decision was taken at meetings between the two countries during the day-long visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian. Dur­ing the trip, Mr Abdoll­ahian met caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, caretaker For­eign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, and Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir.

FM Abdollahian visited Islamabad, after an invitation from his Pakistani counterpart, to continue discussions on border security cooperation after successfully managing a recent diplomatic crisis triggered by Iranian strikes on suspected terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan. In retaliation, Pakistan targeted alleged hideouts of Pakistani terrorist groups on the Iranian side.

‘Liaison officers’

“The two foreign ministers agreed to immediately appoint liaison officers in Turbat and Zahedan to further strengthen on­going security and inte­lligence cooperation,” the Foreign Office said in a statement after the meeting.

Speaking at a media briefing alongside his host, the Iranian foreign minister referred to the understanding about appointing liaison officers and said the two sides had also agreed on full implementation of the existing security cooperation agreements till “full eradication of terrorism threat and menace”.

At the meeting at the General Head­quarters, it was agreed that the deployment of mili­tary liaison officers in each other’s country would be done “at an early date” for better coordination and efficiency of response against common threats, according to the media wing of the military.

Gen Munir, during his meeting with Mr Abdollahian, emphasised the need for leveraging available communication channels to address security concerns.

Iran, following its strikes against the Jaishul Adl terrorist group, had expressed frustration that its concerns about the group’s activities on Pakistani soil were not adequately addressed.

Similarly, Pakistan, in response to its counter-strikes, highlighted that the intelligence it shared with Iran regarding the separatist groups was not acted upon. These mutual grievances underscored the shortcomings in the intelligence coordination system between the two countries.

‘Collaborative, cooperative approaches’

PM Kakar, FM Jilani, and COAS Gen Munir in their separate discussions with Mr Abdollahian stressed the need to avoid provocative unilateral actions.

According to the PMO, Mr Kakar “emp­hasised the need to address common challenges through collaborative and cooperative approaches, rooted in the respect for international law and the principles of the UN Charter, in particular, territorial integrity and sovereignty of both Pakistan and Iran”.

In his media talk, FM Jilani said that “there was no substitute for close interaction and dialogue between the two countries”. He separately noted how the countries used communication channels at the political and military levels to defuse the recent crisis in the shortest possible time.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistan Army, the “COAS underscored the centrality of respecting the other state’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, calling it sacrosanct, inviolable and the most important cardinal of state-to-state relationship.”

Mr Abdollahian reaffirmed Iran’s respect for Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and said that one of the purposes of his visit to Islamabad was to send a message to the “terrorist groups” that they would not be given any opportunity to endanger the common security of the two countries. He blamed “third countries” for the presence of terrorist groups in the common border region.

The two foreign ministers, in view of the linkages between security and development, further agreed to expand economic and development cooperation, especially through early operationalisation of the joint border markets.

“We have agreed that our border shall become a border of trade and development,” the Iranian foreign minister said and hoped that deepened trade and economic ties would pave the way for enhanced cooperation. The FO said, “The two sides also decided to establish a joint coordination mechanism at the level of foreign ministers to oversee and steer progress on a common agenda for prosperity and development of the two peoples.” FM Jilani also invited Iran President Ebrahim Raisi to visit Pakistan after the formation of the new government following the Feb 8 elections.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2024