Pakistan’s Close Relations with Iran; Are New Regional Changes on Way?
The pressure of the United States on Pakistan in the past two years has made the country to get close to regional countries as much as it became cool with America.
Deep and complicated changes are seen in the region. The Iranian president Hasan Rouhani welcomed Tehran-Islamabad’s security and defense cooperation in his visit with the Pakistani chief of army staff Gen. Jawid Qamar Bajwa in Tehran.
President Rouhani emphasized on joint military cooperation between the neighboring countries in the meeting, saying his country is ready for the two countries’ armed forces cooperation, improving training activities, joint maneuvers, helping military industry and using the military experiences of the two countries.
Mr. Bajwa also stressed on the friendly relations of the two countries and strategic military cooperation. The meeting also focused on regional issues.
General Bajwa had a separate meeting with the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard corps Mohammad Ai Jafari as well, which also discussed military cooperation between the two states. “Despite all threats, Iran has a good status in the region and at international level,” Bajwa told Jafari. Strengthening the two country’s border security was also an important issue discussed in the meeting.
This comes as Pakistan has always been accused of disturbing Afghanistan’s security and sheltering terrorism by the Afghan government and its international allies. The new US strategy has particularly read Pakistan as a country that harbored terrorism, calling on the country to change its position.
Since then, US officials have repeatedly called on Pakistan government to take a serious stance against terrorism and not to shelter terrorism anymore.
The pressure of the United States on Pakistan in the past two years has made the country to get close to regional countries as much as it became cool with America. Beginning a new relationship with the Russian Federation as the second power of the world, the expansion of political and economic relations with China, and in the latest case, the strong desire to define a confident relationship with Iran points out that Pakistan is trying to have a new regional position.
This comes as Pakistan has had strategic ties with America for more than four decades and was acting as the closest ally of the US in the region. But now as the US cooled its relations with Pakistan due to supporting regional terrorism, can it be a good member of the regional circle?
The answer to this question partly related to the determination and honesty of Pakistan on serious regional issues, including the terrorism. Let’s see that Pakistan will play two-sided on the issue of terrorism with its regional allies, or new conditions, international pressures and political developments will force Pakistan to have a serious one-side policy.
Undoubtedly, regional consolidations have a direct impact on regional security. Regional countries can maintain stability, security, and political-economic stability in the region. When the United States can influence the political, security, and economic fate of nations from a far greater distance, regional coordination certainly have a greater impact on the shared fate of these countries.
If there is a serious determination on regional issues with necessary regional coherence, the role of western countries will be null on the fate of regional countries, the victory of Iran and Russia in the Middle East war confirm this issue.
Although there were no serious discussions on Afghanistan among the Pakistani and Iranian officials, regional countries, particularly Afghanistan’s Muslim neighboring countries can have a significant role on security and stability of Afghanistan, thus it can have a serious influence on regional stability.
Terrorism is no longer local and national discussions of countries, but a serious global and regional issue and mostly threatens our region than any other geography – mainly Muslim countries. Therefore, the Islamic countries, specially those countries targeted by terrorism should take the initiative of acting against terrorism in hand than any other countries like Western and non-Muslim countries.
Iran’s action against international terrorism, particularly in the fate of Middle East is praiseworthy. If there were no support from the Islamic Republic of Iran and its military role, now there would be no Middle East and ISIL’s devastating epidemic not only swept the entire region but also threatened global security and had influenced the heart of Western countries.
Iran’s anti-terrorism leadership is characterized of what Iran has shown in the past five years in the Middle East’s counter-terrorism war against Daesh and Al-Qaeda and the remains of Sadam’s Ba’ath party which backed up by oil-rich countries. America did not do anything in Afghanistan in the fight against Taliban during past 17 years, which in fact, not comparable with Daesh.
