Following the general elections on February 8, this is the first formal visit by a head of state from Iran, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Pakistan on Monday for a three-day stay.
According to the Foreign Office (FO), Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, Mudassir Tipu, and Housing Minister Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada met Raisi as he landed at the Islamabad airport.
It stated, “The Iranian president is accompanied by his spouse and a high-level delegation that includes the foreign minister, additional cabinet members, and senior officials.”
Asif Ali Zardari extended the invitation for Raisi’s visit, according to Iran’s news agency IRNA.
“President Raisi will travel to various cities in Pakistan to meet with a variety of influential people, businesspeople, and ulema.” The president also intends to travel to Lahore, Pakistan’s cultural center, according to the statement.
The Iranian president was greeted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the Prime Minister’s House shortly after his arrival in the nation. Additionally, he received a guard of honor.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the Prime Minister’s House. — DawnNewsTV. On the eve of Earth Day, Raisi and PM Shehbaz will reportedly plant a sapling in the Prime Minister’s Mansion, according to Radio Pakistan. They will also reportedly attend the signing of memorandums of understanding for mutual cooperation in a number of disciplines.
“The two leaders will take part in a ceremony to christen Iran Avenue as a highway in Islamabad. Along with hosting a lunch for the Iranian president and his delegation, the prime minister will also hold a press conference, according to Radio Pakistan.
Raisi would travel to Lahore and Karachi to meet with the provincial leaders, as the FO has already said.
It should be noted that in order to “avoid inconvenience to the general public” during the visit of foreign dignitaries, the Sindh government has declared a public holiday for Tuesday, April 23, in the Karachi division.
importance of the visit
A week ago, Iran conducted an unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel in response for an airstrike on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus earlier this month, raising tensions in the Middle East and casting doubt on Raisi’s journey to Pakistan. Then, on Friday, there was an apparent Israeli attack on central Iran.
Tehran has downplayed the alleged Israeli attack and said it has no intentions to retaliate, seeming to be aiming to prevent the Gaza crisis from becoming a regional battle.
All Middle Eastern countries have been urged by Pakistan to “exercise utmost restraint and move towards de-escalation.”
The visit by Raisi is particularly noteworthy as Pakistan and Iran work to restore relations following their January tit-for-tat missile attacks. The cross-border attacks exacerbated the tensions in the region that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza had already stoked.
The same week that it bombed Syria and Iraq, Tehran launched strikes against a Pakistani anti-Iranian group. Pakistan retaliated by conducting a raid in the region of Sistan-Balochistan on “militant targets.” In the past, both nations have accused one another of providing sanctuary to extremists.
In addition, Pakistan is depending on an Iranian-led cooperative gas project to resolve an ongoing electricity issue that has impeded its economic expansion.
March 2013 saw the grand opening of a $7.5 billion gas pipeline between Iran and Pakistan, which is meant to supply power plants in Pakistan. However, as soon as Iran was sanctioned internationally, the project came to an abrupt halt.
The 1,800-kilometer pipeline that Tehran has constructed would eventually connect its South Pars gas reserves to Nawabshah.
An 80km stretch of the pipeline was allowed for construction in February by the caretaker administration that was leaving office in Pakistan, mainly to avoid having to pay Iran billions of dollars in penalties for years of delays.
Washington has stated that it does not support the project going forward and has warned Pakistan that it may face US penalties.
