Iran Urges Pakistan’s Firm Action against Terrorist Groups
TEHRAN (Basirat) : Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on the Pakistani government to take decisive action against terrorist groups that harm the friendly and age-old ties between the two Muslim neighbors.
In a telephone conversation with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on
Saturday, the Iranian president hailed the relations between Tehran and
Islamabad as exceptional and historical, stressing that the senior officials of
the two countries have a heavy responsibility to sustain and strengthen the
ties.
Rouhani also called for Islamabad’s strong action against anti-Iranian
terrorists, saying, "We should not allow decades of friendship and fraternity
between the two countries to be undermined because of terrorist groups’
actions.”
"We should not let third parties affect relations between Iran and Pakistan with
these actions,” the president’s official website quoted him as saying.
Iran knows exactly where the terrorist groups that use the Pakistani soil to
carry out terrorist attacks on the Iranian nation are located, the President
said, adding, "We are awaiting your strong action against these terrorists.”
He referred to a recent terrorist attack that took the lives of Iranian border
guards in southeast Iran, saying, "We are witnessing many attacks by terrorists
who are unfortunately based in the Pakistan, and in dealing with these
terrorists, whose existence is not in the interests of us, you and the region,
we are fully ready to cooperate with the Pakistani army and government."
"Continuation of these terrorist activities from the Pakistani soil could
undermine the relations between the two countries,” he warned.
Rouhani also stressed that the Iranian forces are ready to cooperate with
Islamabad to give a strong response to the terrorists, and said, "We are willing
to continue our friendly relations with Pakistan.”
For his part, the Pakistani premier assured that the Pakistani army and
government will do their best to eliminate the terrorists and will not let these
terrorists use the soil of the country against neighbors, especially the people
of Iran.
Expressing condolences over the martyrdom of a number of Iranian armed forces in
the recent terrorist attack, Imran Khan said Pakistan would soon have good news
on dealing with the terrorists.
"It is in the interest of Pakistan not to let terrorist groups use our soil, and
the Pakistani army is ready to deal with terrorists more strongly with the
intelligence provided by Iran,” he said.
The Pakistani prime minister also voiced Islamabad’s willingness for the
development of relations with Tehran in all areas of mutual interest.
A bus carrying the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) personnel was
traveling between the cities of Zahedan and Khash, in Sistan and Balouchestan,
southeast of the country on February 13, when it was targeted in a suicide car
bomb attack.
Twenty-seven IRGC members were killed and 13 others injured in the attack,
claimed by the so-called Jaish ul-Adl terrorist group based in Pakistan.
Source: Tasnim