ISLAMABAD, March 1: Energy Cooperation between Pakistan and Iran was imperative to strengthen the ties between the two countries given the former’s quest for diversification and latter’s search for energy, said Mr. Abdul Basit, Research Fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, Singapore. He was addressing a webinar titled “Prospects of Broadening Pak-Iran Relations amid Evolving Regional Scenarios” arranged by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS), Islamabad, here on Monday. He added that Pak-Iran relations had remained stagnant because of Pakistan’s balancing policy which needed to be reviewed. Afghanistan, he said, was a common point of convergence for Pakistan and Iran considering that the US was a common challenge to both the states. Commenting on the challenges to cordial relations between the two neighbours, MrBasit stated that instead of pulling apart, both countries could cooperate towards a positive trajectory to deal with the border militancy. He added that Gwadar and Chahbahar were equally important in terms of their long-term benefits and that the two projects in fact complemented each other instead of opposing each other.
Dr. Ali Omidi, Associate Professor at the University of Isfahan, Iran, was also of the opinion that the energy sector had to be optimally tapped in to reap the best possible level of bilateral relations between Iran and Pakistan. He said that in addition to gas pipeline, the two countries were actually in need of binding agreements that could cater to their respective deficiencies and other issues. Policies and initiatives often suffered the undue pressure from bigger allies, he added. He was referring to the lack of cooperation from Pakistan in the materialisation of gas pipeline, due to the alleged pressure from the US and Saudi Arabia. He said that it was time that Pakistan and Iran took their relations seriously and explored avenues for further advancement.
Dr. SomayeMorovati, Director South Asia Studies, Tehran International Studies and Research Institute, Iran said that it was pivotal for the governments in both the countries to realise that the separatist movements in Afghanistan were in fact equally threatening for both Iran and Pakistan and that the two needed to work collectively on the issue. In any case, Pakistan’s border with Iran was less volatile than its border with India, which was marred with regular skirmishes, she said. DrMorovati suggested that Pakistan and Iran could work together, and even include the Central Asian Republics (CARs) in their regional security apparatus to maintain a safe border regime, which was a priority for both the countries.
Mr. Fraz Naqvi, Assistant Research Officer for the Iran Program at the Institute of Regional Studies in his concluding note stated that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan led to the emergence of other regional stakeholders and that Pakistan and Iran were directly affected with the situation in Afghanistan due to adjacent border positions. He said that Chinese investment in both Pakistan and Iran also contributed towards the convergence of interests between the two countries.-PR
- Latest
- Trending
