Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Asim Munir and his Iranian counterpart on Sunday vowed to end “terrorism in border areas” between the neighboring nations, according to a statement issued by the military’s media wing.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that during his “successful” two-day visit to Tehran, Gen. Munir had met with the military leadership of Iran, including Chief of General Staff of Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, as well as the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahain.
During their meeting, read the statement, the military commanders had jointly agreed that “terrorism is a common threat to the region, in general, and both countries in particular.” It said they had vowed to eradicate the menace of terrorism in the border areas “through intelligence-sharing and effective actions against the terrorists’ networks,” as well as pleading to explore avenues for enhancing cooperation in the security domain.
According to the statement, the COAS was presented with a guard of honor upon his arrival at the military headquarters.
The meetings between the Army chief and the Iranian leadership, meanwhile, discussed the significance of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran. Raisi, according to Iranian media, told Gen. Munir that Tehran aimed to transform heavily secured borders into safe economic zones through border markets and cooperation in the energy sector. He stressed that strengthening relations with “neighboring, aligned and Muslim countries” was a key foreign policy priority of Iran.
“Accelerating the implementation of bilateral agreements will further enhance economic and commercial cooperation between Iran and Pakistan and, as a result, improve the level of political relations between the two neighbors,” he was quoted as saying by an Iranian news agency. He also stressed on bilateral and regional cooperation as means to prevent the “enemy”—a likely reference to the U.S.—from disrupting relations between the neighboring nations.
The Iranian media statement cited Gen. Munir as praising Iran’s aims to strengthen ties with all its neighbors, describing it “a very valuable opportunity for the Islamic world.”
The meeting between the Army chief and the Iranian foreign minister, similarly, emphasized boosting cooperation at shared borders and combating terrorist groups. The two sides also discussed expanding economic relations, the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline and electricity exports.