Border Security Top Priority in Iran-Pak Ties

Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan said improved border management is the top priority of the two countries, stressing that the two sides need to increase their efforts in this regard.

In an interview with Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper published on Sunday, Mehdi Honardoost expressed his approval at the direction in which ties between Iran and Pakistan are moving, but emphasized that “time is gold and the movement and action should be faster”.

Pointing to the last month’s visit of Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to Iran and his meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the ambassador said, “Border security was one of the most important items on the agenda during the visit of General Bajwa to Iran.”

Iran and Pakistan have had a strained relationship over border management in recent years. Tehran complains about terrorist groups that launch cross-border attacks against Iran and then flee to the Pakistani side of the border.

Honardoost said Iran did not believe that the Pakistani authorities were in any way complicit in such activities, attributing them largely to criminal groups who take advantage of the long and rugged border that makes patrols difficult.