Two new border gates, ferry service and optic fibre network proposed between Pakistan and Iran
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ISLAMABAD - Iran and Pakistan need to intensify efforts to open two new gates at their shared border to facilitate trade and strengthen people-to-people contacts, Iranian ambassador Mehdi Honardoost said on Tuesday. "Opening the crossing points of Mand-Pishin and Gabd-Rimdan has an immense potential to improve border cooperation between Pakistan and Iran," the Iranian envoy told APP here on the sidelines of an event. At present, the two countries have a single operational crossing point at Taftan on Pakistan side and Mirjaveh on Iran side, used for border trade and movement of people from both sides. Honardoost stressed early implementation of the already agreed upon two additional crossing points at Pak-Iran border, terming it a significant step to encourage economic activity between the two countries. The Iranian envoy also called for expediting the launch of proposed ferry line between Iran's Chabahar port and Karachi, saying the service would greatly facilitate the commuters from both sides as 95 percent of them crossed through land route. He said the ferry service would turn out to be an economically viable project for millions of Pakistanis who regularly visited Iran for commercial and religious purposes. However, he stressed ensuring necessary arrangements on both sides including electricity and laying of fibre optic cable to maximum facilitate the travellers. On twelve Iranian border security guards who were abducted from Lulakdan area of Pak-Iran border in October last, Honardoost said there was no update on the remaining seven guards after five of them were recovered by Pakistani security forces in November. He said the Director General Military Operations from the two sides were coordinating actions in this regard, however there was no clue of the missing five, to date.
