President Zardari meets Iranian interior minister in Islamabad

Zardari says militancy threatens regional and global peace, needs to be tackled collectively.

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari said on Wednesday that the promotion of intra and inter-regional connectivity was key to the socioeconomic development of the people of this region and that Iran had a major role to play along with Pakistan because of their geostrategic locations.

Zardari made the statement in a meeting with the Interior Minister of Iran Mostafa Mohammad Najjar at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Wednesday.

Najjar was accompanied by Iranian Ambassador Mashallah Shakeri, Deputy Interior Minister Mahdi Mohammadifard, Deputy Minister and Head of Crisis Management Organisation Hasan Ghadami and head of the Red Crescent Society.

Accompanying the president were Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Secretary General to the president Salman Faruqi, Interior Secretary KM Siddiq Akber and other senior officials.

Zardari said the two countries needed to further deepen cooperation in all areas, particularly trade, energy, security, communication and infrastructure.

He said that resource shortages, inadequate trade, smuggling, drug trafficking, border management and security were among the few challenges that the two countries needed to address together.

The president said that Pakistan attached high priority to early completion of the Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline and the 1000 MW Taftan-Quetta Power Transmission line.

Zardari appreciated the agreement on the opening of a Pakistan consulate in Bandar Abbas and the establishment of a Pakistani Cultural Centre in Tehran.

He said that the agreement between the two countries to raise bilateral trade to $10 billion was a doable achievement. In this regard, currency swap agreement and initiatives such as export of meat from Pakistan to Iran can have an immediate impact, he added.

The president said that militancy threatened regional and global peace and needed to be tackled collectively.

“Militancy thrives on the deprivation of people. By providing our people education and economic opportunities, we can effectively take on the challenge of militancy on one hand and wean away our youth from falling trap into the hands of militants,” he said.

The destruction caused by recent rains in different parts of Pakistan was also discussed during the meeting. During the meeting, Interior Minister Najjar said that Iran would donate $100 million for the rehabilitation of those affected by the floods.

Najjar said that Iran was equally eager for materialisation of all mutual projects that have been agreed upon by the leadership of the two countries.

He said that Iran would continue to partner with Pakistan to overcome existing challenges faced by the two countries.