ISLAMABAD: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif heading a high-profile delegation reached Pakistan on a two-day visit.
He was welcomed at the Noor Khan Airbase in Islamabad by Pakistani officials and the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan.
The delegation includes Iran’s special envoy for Afghanistan Mohammad Ibrahim Taheriyan, according to an Iranian official. This would be Mr Taheriyan’s first visit to Islamabad in his capacity as the Iranian point man on Afghanistan.
Foreign Office had earlier in the day announced that Dr. Javad Zarif will pay an official visit to Pakistan on 10-11 November 2020.
According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the foreign office said that the Iranian foreign minister will have delegation-level talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and have interaction with other dignitaries.
He will also call on Prime Minister Imran Khan. Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s visit to Pakistan forms part of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries. This is his fourth visit to Pakistan during the last two and a half years.
The foreign office said that Pakistan and Iran enjoy close, cordial relations founded on mutual trust and augmented by affinities of faith and culture.
“Bilateral collaboration between the two countries has been growing in diverse fields,” it said adding that the Iranian leadership has been vocal in its steadfast support on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
The visit of the Foreign Minister of Iran will help further deepen bilateral cooperation and enhance understanding of various regional issues, the FO said.
Earlier, Zarif paid tribute to Pakistan’s national poet Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal on his 143rd birth anniversary.
“Allama Iqbal Fakhr has the status of a scholar of Islam and an international poet and thinker and the concerns he had for the unity of Muslims is a concern for the world of Islam today,” he tweeted.
علامہ اقبال فخر عالم اسلام اور بین الاقوامی شاعر و مفکر کا درجہ رکھتے ہیں اور اتحاد بین المسلمین کے لیے جو دردِ دل رکھتے تھے وہ آج عالم اسلام کے لیے درپیش تشویش ہے.
دل به محبوب حجازی بسته ایم
زین جهت با یکدگر پیوسته ایم.تمام پاکستانیوں کو #یوم_اقبال مبارک ہو.#IqbalDay pic.twitter.com/pGoVxJm4vO
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) November 9, 2020
