Pakistani PM’s special envoy for Afghanistan meets with Iranian FM
Mohammad Sadiq Khan, the Pakistani prime minister’s special envoy for Afghanistan met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Tuesday morning.
Mohammad Sadiq Khan, the Pakistani prime minister’s special envoy for Afghanistan met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Tuesday morning.
Khan has travelled to Tehran for consultations over the latest developments in Afghanistan.
In the meeting, Amirabdollahian extended the Iranian president’s warm greetings to the president and prime minister of Pakistan and offered his own greetings to Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto. Amirabdollahian then described relations between Tehran and Islamabad as excellent and underlined the need to further expand cooperation between the two neighbors in all areas, especially regional security.
The top Iranian diplomat said the Islamic Republic of Iran considers Pakistan’s security as its own security, saying Tehran is ready for any cooperation that would strengthen security in the region.
Amirabdollahian referred to the presence of over 4.5 million Afghan nationals in Iran including 1.5 million people who entered the Islamic Republic in the wake of last year’s developments in Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover of the country. He underlined Iran’s support for peace and stability in Afghanistan that would pave the way for the return of refugees to their own country. Amirabdollahian said the Islamic Republic of Iran will do its utmost to establish peace and calm in Afghanistan and bring welfare to the country’s people.
He also spoke about the meeting of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan's neighbors in Tehran last year, saying that implementing the resolutions of the Tehran meeting can remove security threats to Afghanistan and the region and pave the way for peace, stability and development in Afghanistan.
Amirabdollahian further said the Islamic Republic of Iran is prepared for an extraordinary meeting of the top diplomats of Afghanistan’s neighbors.
Sadiq Khan the Pakistani prime minister’s special envoy for Afghanistan
for his part outlined his country's views about the ongoing developments in Afghanistan and its status quo, which have reduced the living standards of the Afghan people and increased insecurity there due to domestic conditions and foreign pressures. He then stressed the significance of the constructive role of regional countries and Afghanistan’s neighbors, particularly Iran and Pakistan.
Khan further pointed to his positive consultations with Iranian officials over Afghanistan and regional security. He stressed that Iran and Pakistan have been most affected by the developments in Afghanistan due to the huge refugee influx from the country as well as the decreased living standards, the rising insecurity and a surge in narcotrafficking there.
He added that cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad can guarantee help to the Afghan people and considerably reduce the destructive impact of the situation for them and the entire region.