Islamabad: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived on Monday in Islamabad for a one-day visit to meet top executives, said officials, in the middle of rising excitement with nearby India after an attack on tourists last month in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
India has accused Pakistan of involvement in the deadly attack that Islamabad denies. It says it has “credible intelligence” that India intends to launch military action, which burns the prospects of war between the nuclear armed rivals.
The Iranian ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam told state media that the Pakistan-India standard would be on the agenda.
“Given Iran’s close relations with both Pakistan and India, ways to reduce tension in the subcontinent will be among questions … pursued during Araqchi’s meetings,” he added.
The Iranian Foreign Minister was received by further secretary West Asia Syed Asad Gillani, Moghadam and other senior Pakistani officials.
During the visit, he holds important meetings with Pakistani leadership, including President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar.
Araqchi, who will be in Islamabad for a day, is expected to visit Delhi later this week. It was not immediately clear whether the visits were planned before the latest excitement.
“The two sides will also exchange views on regional and global development,” Pakistan’s FO said in a statement.
India’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously excluded third -party mediation in questions related to Kashmir.
According to a FO declaration, this high-level visit reflects the deeply rooted and strong relationship between Pakistan and the fraternal nation Iran.
It also emphasizes the two countries’ common obligation to strengthen bilateral cooperation across all areas of mutual interest. The two sides will also exchange views on regional and global development.
Since the attack, Islamabad has been in contact with a number of capitals regarding the situation, said its FO, most recently through a telephone call between Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Russian colleague Sergey Lavrov.
“Lavrov expressed concern about the situation and emphasized the importance of diplomacy to solve problems,” FO said in a statement on Sunday, adding that he called on the detention on both sides and asked them to avoid escalation.
Islamabad has also asked its UN broadcast to seek a meeting of the UN Security Council to inform the body of what it called India’s “aggressive actions” at risk of peace and security.
– With additional input from app
