ISLAMABAD: The Iranian envoy on Thursday asked Pakistan to look for ways tobypass American sanctions for increasing its bilateral trade and economiccooperation with Iran.
Iranian Ambassador Seyyed Mohammed Ali Hosseini was delivering a lecture on‘Pak-Iran Peace and Security Cooperation’ at the Islamabad Policy Institute(IPI).
The ambassador’s lecture covered a wide range of issues, including thebilateral agenda, the situation in the Middle East, efforts for peace inAfghanistan, and even issues rarely discussed publicly like theparticipation of certain Pakistanis in the fight against militant IslamicState group or Daesh in Syria.
The envoy said Iran wanted to expand ties with Pakistan in all spheres,especially trade. Iran, he said, has already expressed its desire to becomea part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor either in the bilateral ortrilateral format. US sanctions, he believed, were, however, the mainfactor preventing the progress on the economic front.
Iran had earlier worked out a financial mechanism with the European Unionto circumvent sanctions, but that did not work.
Pakistan and Iran had committed to increase bilateral trade to $5 billionper annum, open banking channels for facilitating trade and initiate ferryservice. However, there has been little progress in this direction becauseof the US sanctions on Iran. Similarly, Pakistan has not been able toactivate the long due Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline.
He said the two countries have intensified cooperation on border security,the other thorny areas in the ties, and the situation at the borders wasmuch better than before. “Pakistan and Iran are much closer now than beforedue to sincere efforts of Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he said.
The envoy appreciated Pakistan for not succumbing to pressures with regardsto its relations with Iran. There have been a lot of pressure on Islamabad,and that continues even now, but Pakistan has withstood all of that, hesaid.
On efforts for peace in the Middle East and Pakistani mediation initiative,Mr Hosseini said Iran was ready to initiate dialogue with Saudi Arabia toaddress each other’s concerns, but so far there was no positive responsefrom Riyadh. “However, we have not lost hope as yet,” he maintained.
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He said Iran was open to participating in dialogue with the Saudisanywhere, including Riyadh. Mr Hosseini praised Pakistani role for peace inAfghanistan as positive and constructive.
Peace in Afghanistan
Responding to a question about US-Taliban talks, he cast aspersions on USintentions for peace in Afghanistan saying Iran expects no good from theUS. He called for participation of all Afghan stakeholders in the peaceprocess and said that Tehran considers the Afghan government as the “mainaxis of dialogue”.
He rejected US President Donald Trump’s Middle East initiative, also calledas the Deal of Century, as a “heinous design”.
In response to a question about Iran’s involvement with Pakistani Shias,who allegedly travelled to Syria for defence of the shrine of Hazrat SyedaZainab, granddaughter of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), theambassador said that Tehran did not encourage anyone to go there fordefending the shrine. Some people, he said, did go there out of their lovefor the family of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).
Mr Hosseini said Iran otherwise did not need any human resource for thedefence of the shrine from Daesh. “We had enough people to defend theshrine even without support of people from other countries,” he said.
In response to another query, he said Iran’s involvement in Iraq and Syriain the fight against Daesh was in advisory capacity. He said the respectfor sovereignty of Syria and Iraq was ensured while Iran performed thatrole.
