ISLAMABAD: Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Honardoost on Friday expressed confidence in the leadership of Pakistan, saying Islamabad was wise enough to understand the ‘other side’ of the 34-nation military alliance.
Speaking at the National Press Club, the Iranian ambassador took the inter-government military alliance of 34 Muslim states lightly and said some of the coalition partners were even extending support to terrorist militias in the Middle East’s war theatre.
However, he said the government of Pakistan was wise and understood the sensitivity of the situation. This, he added, was visible from the decision of Pakistan not to send troops to Yemen.
“The government of Pakistan is wise and will consider all sides of this military coalition. In appearance it looks to be a peace alliance but I am sure the government of Pakistan can see the other side as well.”
He, however, declined to elaborate on the meaning of the ‘other side.’
Mr Honardoost added that four major countries of the Islamic bloc were out of the military coalition, adding the loosely arranged and fledgling alliance had a conflicting agenda.
Regarding the Syrian peace talks, the Iranian envoy said it was a welcoming sign but added, “a lasting peace in any country will have to come from its own people and not by the will of superpowers or outsiders”.
Saying both Pakistan and Iran had suffered at the hands of terrorism and extremism, he called for a unified approach to stop terrorist activities in both countries.
“Terrorism is a global phenomenon and one reason for the increase in terror activities is the double standards of super powers. There is nothing like a good or bad terrorist – both are the same.” The second reason is the root cause – that is financial and logistic support to terror groups, he added.
In reply to a question regarding the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Daesh, he said a higher degree of cooperation and coordination was needed to deal with terrorism.
He also spoke about the need for enhanced trade and commerce relations between Pakistan and Iran and said both the countries shared historic cordial relations.
He said both the countries had been engaged in religious, political, economic, commercial and cultural relations from decades.
Mr Honardoost added that Iran was the key source to meet Pakistan’s energy needs in the shape of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline.
“We have no hard conditions like other countries, adding Tehran wanted to provide cheap energy for industrial and economic progress of Pakistan.
He said both the countries would ink several agreements, including in the power sector, during the visit of President Hassan Rouhani next week. “‘We want to enhance the trade volume with Pakistan from $100 million to $5 billion in coming years,” he said.
The Iranian envoy refuted the impression that “Iran surrendered to the United States over the nuclear deal and said: “We have told the world and the international community that nobody gave us this knowledge – so nobody can take it as it is in our minds.”
However, he added, Iran had already made it clear even before the deal that it would not make nuclear weapons.
He said the Iranian president plans to undertake a visit to Islamabad most likely on March 25-26. However, the dates are not officially confirmed.
He said during the visit of the Iranian president, both the countries would look for new avenues and sign agreements on free trade, energy, business and defence, especially lifting of sanctions on Iran by the world community, including Pakistan.http://www.dawn.com/news/1246639/pakistan-wise-enough-to-understand-all-aspects-of-34-nation-coalition
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