During his two-day official visit to Pakistan, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has held meetings with top civil and military leaderships of Pakistan. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif called on President Rouhani and discussed matters of regional security, Pak-Iran relations, border security and connectivity. President Rouhani paid rich tributes to the achievements of the Pakistan army in Operation Zarb-e-Azb. After the lifting of international sanctions on Iran, Tehran and Islamabad are looking forward to improving bilateral relations.
After the meeting between the COAS and the Iranian president, it was reported in the local media that the issue of the involvement of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Pakistan’s internal affairs as well as the arrest of an alleged Indian spy from Balochistan by Pakistan’s security agencies also came under discussion. However, President Rouhani later termed this news a rumour and rejected claims by some official quarters that the issue of Indian spy agency’s involvement in Pakistan was discussed. If there was no discussion regarding RAW’s involvement in Pakistan, why was media hype created? It has been learnt that the detained Indian national is claimed to have entered Pakistan via Iran, with a valid Iranian visa on his passport. Fingers are being raised about a possible link between Iran and India. In order to allay these concerns, Iran is expected to fully cooperate with Pakistan regarding the infiltration of an Indian national from Iranian territory to Balochistan. These are serious allegations and need to be thoroughly probed. Iran should not allow anyone to use its soil for any action against Pakistan. It is important to note that instead of our foreign or interior ministries taking up the issue with their Iranian counterparts, it is the COAS who has discussed the infiltration with the Iranian president.
Pakistan and Iran should work together and share intelligence of this type of infiltration from Iran to Pakistan. How can an Indian national infiltrate into Pakistan via Iran without coming into the notice of the Iranian authorities? The concerned authorities from both states need to take notice of such subversive acts. At a time when Pakistan and China are going in full swing on the completion of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that Iran can use to export its oil and gas, they should ensure that the Iranian territory is not used against Pakistan in any shape and form. Pakistan and Iran need to bolster ties so that both countries are able to uproot the menace of terrorism from the region.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/27-Mar-2016/the-raheel-rouhani-meeting
Comments are closed.