Iran president to visit Pakistan as tension rises in Middle East

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is reportedly scheduled to visit Pakistan on April 22 and meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and the military leadership amid the escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The 63-year-old leader’s anticipated visit to Pakistan is scheduled a few days after Iran fired over 300 missiles and drones at Israel in response to an alleged Israeli airstrike on its consulate in Damascus, Syria, which claimed the lives of multiple individuals, including two senior commanders of Iran’s renowned Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to Geo News.

The visit is especially noteworthy because it takes place in the middle of Pakistan and Iran’s continuous attempts to strengthen their collaboration, which had a brief setback earlier this year.

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According to the report, Pakistan carried out precision operations in January to target terrorists within Iranian territory, utilizing killer drones and missiles as retaliation for Iran’s cross-border assaults.

Drones and missiles were fired into two bases of the Sunni Baloch militia ‘Jaish al-Adl’ in Pakistan’s restive province of Balochistan, Iranian official television said.

Founded in 2012, Jaish al-Adl, often known as the “Army of Justice,” is a Baloch Sunni organization that primarily functions within Pakistan.

In a show of defiance over Iran’s invasion of its sovereignty, Pakistan even withdrew its ambassador from Iran and declared that it would not permit the Iranian envoy, who was at the time visiting his home nation, to return, according to Geo News.

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But the ambassadors of the two nations quickly resumed their respective positions, restoring the diplomatic relations.

According to the report, the sources stated that bilateral relations, security cooperation, a gas pipeline, and a possible free trade agreement (FTA) are on President Raisi’s itinerary for his visit.

According to the article, the Iranian president’s visit is particularly significant because the two nations have significant economic interests in common, most notably the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline.

According to the source, Iran also declared on Monday that, because of the close relations between the two nations, they would free Pakistanis who were left behind aboard a ship that had been taken by Iranian forces, provided that their identities could be verified and the necessary legal procedures were fulfilled.