Iran, Pakistan establish joint working group to address border security 

Iran and Pakistan have formed a joint taskforce to cooperate on border management following a meeting in Islamabad on Monday between Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi and his Pakistani counterpart Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad on Monday.

Concluding the one-day visit, Vahidi told Iran’s IRNA that both countries were seeking to strengthen economic relations. “Iran-Pakistan relations, especially in the economic field, should be stronger and broader,” he said.

The joint working group aims to improve border security in addition to addressing trade and travel issues and the exchange of prisoners.

Minister for Interior of Iran, Dr. Ahmad Vahidi, called on Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI today. pic.twitter.com/mVHOe9nKWp

— Prime Minister's Office (@PakPMO) February 14, 2022

The Iranian diplomat also met with Prime Minister Imran Khan and army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. According to a statement by Khan’s office, the development of border markets and the situation of Afghanistan was also discussed, which “underscored the importance of close coordination between the two countries.”

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While General Bajwa said that “enhanced cooperation between the two brotherly neighbours is vital for peace and stability in the region.”

The visit comes at a time when border patrols from both countries have been under attack from sporadic skirmishes along the approximate 750 kilometre-long border, where terrorists including Al-Qaeda affiliate Jeish Al-Adl and drug smugglers operate.

Last month, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard killed an unidentified gunman who attacked its intelligence office in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan. Also this month, the militant separatist group, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), attacked two security posts belonging to Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps killing at least 12 soldiers.

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