Amidst growing tensions in the Middle East and airstrikes between Iran and Pakistan in the name of attacks on “terrorist hideouts”, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi landed in Pakistan on April 22, for his 3 day trip to discuss bilateral and regional relations. Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif has received its first visitor after the controversial general elections held in February.
Large billboards displaying photos of President Raisi and PM Sharif, titled “Pakistan-Iran : Friendly Neighbours” across the capital city, Islamabad for a warm welcome to the President.
Day 1:
On Monday, President Raisi landed on the Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi where he was greeted by the federal minister for Housing and Works, Riaz Hussain Pirzada. The PM reportedly was not present to receive the President at the Airbase on his arrival. His first meeting was with the Pak PM, Shehbaz Sharif where they discussed the matter of Israel in Gaza and agreed to boost their trade to $10 billion. They signed eight agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to work together in areas like security, trade, science and technology, animal health, culture, and legal matters.
🚨🇵🇰🇮🇷 Why US puppet Pakistani PM didn’t receive Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi on the Airport.?
In the Past , Imran khan gave honor to every Muslim ruler and received them on Airport .. pic.twitter.com/zFdjyR6gjA
— Peace Warrior🇵🇸 (@Kilch_Warrior) April 22, 2024
An opening ceremony of the new section of Islamabad’s 11th Avenue was also conducted and the section was renamed ‘Iran Avenue’ in memory of the friendship between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Pakistani counterpart Mohammad Ishaq Dar exchanged views over the telephone on “growing trend of bilateral relations between Tehran and Islamabad and some issues of mutual interest.”
Day 2:
On his second day, Prez Raisi visited Lahore followed by a lunch at the Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman’s house. Discussions on increasing cultural exchanges between the two nations was also done in a meeting with Maryam Nawaz, CM of Punjab.
The next stop was Karachi. Upon his arrival at Jinnah International Airport, he was welcomed by Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori and Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. Later, he went to Mazar-i-Quaid, the final resting place of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, where he prayed alongside provincial officials and his delegation. He also visited the Sindh Chief Minister’s House. Overwhelmed by the warmth he received from the people of Pakistan, Prez Raisi appreciated the goodwill of the country and even wished to conduct a public gathering, but unfortunately couldn’t conduct due to some reasons.
In the middle of this, the Iranian President had not forgotten his arch nemesis Israel and issued threats to destroy the ‘Zionist Regime’ of Israel, from Pakistan. “If the Zionist regime once again makes a mistake and attacks the sacred land of Iran, the situation will be different, and it is not clear whether anything will remain of this regime,” Ebrahim Raisi was quoted in a press release by IRNA, country’s state news agency.
On day 3, the President of Iran wrapped up his visit and left for his home country. This serious attempt at mending ties and improving the bilateral relations between Iran and Pakistan has upset other nations like the US.
USA Reaction on Iran’s Visit
As soon as the news of “Pakistan-Iran : Friendly Neighbours” hit the Washington White House, the US warned Pakistan against forming such diplomatic relations with Iran and threats of ‘potential sanctions’. A US spokesperson spoke to the media on Tuesday and said, “We’re going to continue to disrupt and take actions against proliferation networks and concerning weapons of mass destruction procurement activities wherever they may occur.” “We advise anyone considering business deals with Iran to be aware of the potential risk of sanctions. But ultimately, the government of Pakistan can speak to their own foreign policy pursuits”, he added.
This threat comes in light of the opposition of the Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline, a project that was inaugurated in March 2013 but stalled soon after the US imposed sanctions on Iran. The fate of this 10 year old project has not been decided till date.
