The lay of the land in the region has always ensured that Pakistan and Iran’s state interest have been interlinked on multiple levels necessitating cooperation. Both political and strategic imperatives have led to a history of both the countries working to consolidate ties despite the fact that there has been a divergence of outlook on certain regional and international issues.
The recent visit of President Zardari to Iran was a very positive development. Iran’s concerns about the developments in Afghanistan and Iraq, countering Saudi influence in the region and the scourge of sectarian violence within our country have always formed the perpetual context within which our relations operate. It was, thus, encouraging to see the countries move above and beyond these issues and work towards increased economic and political cooperation.
Amidst the run-of-the-mill announcements about terrorism being the common enemy, and the like, there were other key announcements, especially on the economic front. Not least amongst them that Tehran would complete its part of the Pak-Iran gas pipeline by next year and, indeed, it couldn’t get here soon enough. There were also talks of a currency swap agreement, import of electricity and raising the volume of trade to $4 billion. Let’s hope that the diplomatic mandarins ink out some agreements in this regard as they could be fruitful for our shambolic economy.
There was also talk about an integrated border management regime which could not only be helpful in tackling the militancy and terrorism but could also aid in curbing the trafficking (both human and narcotic) alongside the shared border.
All this cosying up with our friendly neighbourhood nation will ring alarm bells in the power corridors of Washington. Indeed, Khameini didn’t have kind words for our ally numero uno. But last we checked, the US had 50 states and we could still decide our own foreign policy imperatives and how we balance them. We understand that the US has concerns – to mildly put it – about Iran but we have our own history with Iran and friendly relations with it our not only in our national interest but also conducive to regional peace and stability. Here is to hoping that this visit can contribute to further strengthening our bilateral ties.
