On April 22, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Islamabad, starting a three-day official visit to Pakistan, aiming to further strengthen bilateral relations.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrives in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on April 22. (Source: AP) |
President Raisi is expected to meet with host Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other officials. He will also visit the eastern city of Lahore and the southern port city of Karachi, Arab News reported.
To ensure security for the Iranian President's visit, Pakistani authorities have increased police deployment and blocked many roads in Islamabad.
Throughout the history of relations between Iran and Pakistan, the two countries have had many differences and confrontations despite trade links with many bilateral agreements.
The most notable bilateral agreement between the two countries is the gas pipeline project to transport gas from the South Fars field in Iran to Pakistan's southern provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, which was signed in 2010 but has been stalled until now.
The visit comes as the two neighboring Muslim countries are trying to mend ties after attacks on sites in each other's countries in January this year, the Pakistani Foreign Minister's office said.
At that time, Tehran announced that it had attacked the headquarters of the Jaish al-Adl group in Balochistan province, southwest Pakistan with "missiles and drones" on January 16, in "response to the act of aggression against national security".
Pakistan has condemned Iran's airspace violation, recalled its ambassador from Tehran and barred the neighboring country's envoy from returning to Islamabad.
Then, on January 18, Islamabad launched a series of "precise, targeted and closely coordinated" military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Iran's Siestan-o-Baluchistan province, but affirmed "full respect" for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the "brotherly nation".
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