Indian proxy war neutralized.

Byline: Iqbal Khan

In the fast changing geo-political landscape in our region and its neighbourhood, Pakistan has used diplomacy as an effective tool not only to unleash a process of protecting its strategic interests but also to recalibrate its relations with Iran which to a great extent has neutralised Indian covert proxy war against her through sponsored acts of terrorism using Iranian soil. Relations between Pakistan and Iran have been under a lot of strain due to cross-border terrorism and Iranian perception about Pakistan having a tilt towards her arch rival Saudi Arabia with regard to their animosity on regional issues, notwithstanding fact that Pakistan has remained neutral and tried to defuse tension between them.

Indian RAW has not only been using Afghan soil in collaboration with Afghan NDS to sponsor acts of terrorism in Pakistan but also the Iranian land for the same purpose. Kalbhushan Yadav captured in Balochistan who was assisting the Baloch insurgents and sponsoring acts of terrorism in Pakistan, was based in Iran. Similarly some Baloch insurgents who enjoyed Indian patronage also had sanctuaries and training camps on the Iranian territory. The Baloch militants who killed 14 Pakistani security personnel near Ormara in Balochistan in April and claimed responsibility for the gory incident also came from Iran. It was therefore in the backdrop of the snowballing tension between the two countries after that act of terrorism that Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan undertook a two-day visit to Iran in the last week of April where he met the Iranian leaders to discuss border security, counter-terrorism, regional issues and improvement in the bilateral relations.

The visit surely produced very positive results. The two countries agreed to set up Joint Rapid Reaction Force to fight terrorism and guard the common border between the two countries and also vowed not to allow their territories to be used for terrorist activities. Relations between the two countries were under great stress following terrorist attacks on both sides of the frontier. In the context of bilateral relations, the two sides also resolved to enhance cooperation in a number of social and cultural domains besides expanding economic relations. Iranian President mentioned utilization of Chahbahar and Gwadar Ports to handle increased activity in the region and also urged Pakistan to build the IP gas pipeline section on its side as soon as possible.

The visit to Iran...