ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will pay a two-day official visit to Iran on Sunday.
He will be visiting Iran on the invitation of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The visit will include a brief stop-over in Mashhad before arriving in Tehran for bilateral talks with the Iranian leadership.
The prime minister will call on Iranian Supreme Leader Seyed Ali Khamenei and hold detailed consultations with President Rouhani. Imran Khan will also meet members of the Iranian and Pakistani business community in Iran.
Pakistan’s relations with Iran are marked by close historical and cultural linkages and strong people to people exchanges. Pakistan and Iran are also members of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The prime minister’s visit to Iran will further the close bilateral relationship between the two countries.
PM Imran’s visit comes after the Ormara massacre in which 14 people were killed by terrorists in Balochistan’s Ormara. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that the terrorists had come from Iran.
“As much as 20 terrorists backed by Iran-based militant organisation clad in camouflage uniform of the Frontier Corps (FC) entered Pakistan from Iran and conducted an attack,” he added.
Pakistan also shared actionable evidence with Iran and asked the neighbouring country to act against elements involved in the attack.
It is worth mentioning here that before going to Iran, PM Imran will visit Quetta where he will inaugurate a housing scheme and meet members of the Hazara community.
Earlier on April 12, Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Honardoost told a select group of journalists that Iran was awaiting PM Imran’s visit.
“PM Imran would be our dear guest and we are eagerly waiting for his visit. We know he is very busy these days and we expect he would soon visit Iran,” he said.
After assuming office, PM Imran has visited Saudi Arabia, China, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey and Malaysia to improve bilateral ties and to promote Pakistan as a destination for foreign investments.
