Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani held a telephonic conversation with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Friday, the Foreign Office said after the neighbours carried out drone and missile strikes on militant bases on each other’s territory.
“Foreign Minister Jilani expressed Pakistan’s readiness to work with Iran on all issues based on spirit of mutual trust and cooperation,” it said in a statement.
Jilani underscored the need for closer cooperation on security issues.
The phone call comes amid Pakistan-Iran tensions which began with Tehran violating Islamabad’s airspace on Wednesday.
In a tit-for-tat move, the South Asian carried out ‘highly coordinated’ strikes against terrorist camps inside Iranian territory on Thursday. The strikes were launched a day after Pakistan expelled the Iranian ambassador and recalled its envoy from Iran.
A statement from the FO said that the operation had been named ‘Marg Bar Sarmachar’ and that several terrorists had been killed in it.
It clarified that Pakistan respected Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity but had undertaken Thursday’s action in the interest of its national security.
Foreign Minister Jilani stressed that respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty must underpin the cooperation.
The two FMs agreed that working-level cooperation and close coordination on counter-terrorism and other aspects of mutual concern should be strengthened. “They also agreed to de-escalate the situation.”
The return of ambassadors of the two countries to their respective capitals was also discussed.
Earlier in the day, the National Security Committee met to review the overall security situation.
Meanwhile, sources said that Additional Foreign Secretary Rahim Hayat Qureshi has responded positively to the message of his Iranian counterpart Syed Rasool Mousavi.
Qureshi said that the two countries have brotherly relations they would move forward to solve all the problems through dialogue. Both states need coordinated action to tackle common challenges including terrorism, he added.
The Iranian diplomat said that leaders and high officials of both countries know that the enemies would benefit from the recent tensions, adding that the main problem of the Muslim world was to stop the crimes of the Israeli government in Gaza.
The exchange of such messages has been confirmed by the spokesperson of the Foreign Office.
