ISLAMABAD, March 25: Pakistan has declared that the UN Security Council Resolution 1747 adopted on Saturday, imposing tougher sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, was not likely to affect Tehran-Islamabad bilateral cooperation and called for a negotiated settlement of the issue.

“It is unlikely to affect Pakistan’s economic relations with Iran because the sanctions are mostly nuclear-related and the two countries do not have any transactions in the nuclear sector,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said when contacted by Dawn on Sunday. When specifically asked if the sanctions would have a negative bearing on the ongoing military cooperation, she thought it was unlikely but did not give a categorical statement and left it at: “We will have to study the resolution in detail.”

Reacting to the UN resolution adopted unanimously by the 15-member Security Council following Tehran’s refusal to halt its nuclear enrichment programme, Ms Aslam noted: “We do not want anything that would aggravate the situation and lead to further tensions.” Reiterating that Pakistan had repeatedly emphasised the need for a negotiated settlement of Iran’s nuclear issue, she added: “We want a peaceful resolution of the issue through dialogue and diplomacy.”

When her comments were sought on the text of the latest UN resolution against Iran slapping additional sanctions, she was noncommittal and said: “It has been just adopted and we are still examining it.”

The FO spokesperson opted not to comment on Iran’s reaction to the sanctions and its contention that they were unjust.

Answering a question, she stated that since UN resolutions were binding on all member states, Pakistan would have to abide by any resolution adopted by the Security Council on Iran.

The spokesperson almost ruled out the possibility of the sanctions affecting the multi-billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, saying there were no sanctions on petroleum.

The UN Security Council last slapped sanctions on Iran in December 2006.

Observers believe that imposing sanctions on Iran and isolating it will only make it more defiant and harden Tehran’s resolve to aggressively pursue its uranium enrichment programme.