Foreign minister held one-on-one meeting with FM Jalil Abbas Jillani,
ISLAMABAD, Jan 29 (APP): Foreign Minister of Iran Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived here in the wee hours of Monday, at the invitation of Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani. On his arrival at the Nur Khan Airbase, the Iranian foreign minister was received by Additional Foreign Secretary (Afghanistan and West Asia) of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rahim Hayat Qureshi.
The visit comes days after tensions between the two countries rose after Iran launched an airstrike in Pakistan after which Islamabad hit terrorist hideouts inside the Iranian border.
Leading a high-ranking delegation, the Iranian foreign minister will talk about security, economic and trade issues during the one-day visit, according to IRNA.
Nine Pakistani workers killed in Iran
According to diplomatic sources, the visit of the Iranian foreign minister is seen as a step towards normalisation of bilateral ties. They added that bringing to justice the killers of nine Pakistanis in Iran will be the most important point of negotiations,
The sources also said that Pakistan will reiterate its demand for an immediate need to investigate the incident and hold accountable those involved in the heinous crime.
“During the visit, Foreign Minister Abdollahian will hold in-depth talks with Foreign Minister Jilani and call on Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar,” according to a Foreign Office statement. This high level visit comes after both the countries, in their joint press statement on January 22, had announced that the envoys of both the countries would return to their respective posts and that Iranian FM would visit Islamabad.
Earlier, the relations between both the countries were strained after Iran violated Pakistan’s airspace this month which followed Pakistan’s military strike inside Iran to target the hideouts of the Pakistan-origin terrorists.
On January 16, Iran launched attacks in Balochistan, Read More From;Pakistan warns Iran of serious consequences after airspace violation kills two children
Pakistan on January 17 withdrew its ambassador from Iran and announced that it would not allow the Iranian envoy visiting his home country, Pakistan recalls ambassador from Iran after airspace violation
The next day, on January 18, Pakistan launched strikes on terrorists, Pak strikes Balochistan Liberation Groups in Iran: ISPR
In a statement, the Pakistan Army said the hideouts used by terrorist militant organisations, namely Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), were successfully struck in an intelligence-based operation, code-named — “Marg Bar Sarmachar”.
On January 26, the envoys of Pakistan and Iran resumed duties in Tehran and Islamabad after a brief strain in diplomatic ties following cross-border tensions.
However, just a day after the resumption of diplomatic ties, at least nine Pakistani citizens were killed and three sustained injuries in a firing incident near the Pakistani border in Iran.
Foreign ministers of Pakistan and Iran will also hold a joint press stakeout after talks today.
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