ISLAMABAD, April 22, (AP): Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday soon after arriving in the capital, Islamabad, for a three-day visit, officials said.
The meeting came as part of efforts by Islamabad and Tehran to mend ties which had been briefly strained in January when the two sides carried out tit-for-tat strikes targeting militants accused of attacking their security forces.
Raisi was welcomed at the airport by Housing Minister Riaz Hussain Pirzada and other officials. Authorities have deployed hundreds of additional police and paramilitary forces to ensure security during the visit.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent months, mostly blamed on Pakistani Taliban and insurgents targeting security forces in Pakistan and neighboring Iran.
Sharif welcomed Raisi with a guard of honor ceremony in front of the premier's office, broadcast by the state-run Pakistan Television.
According to a statement released by the premier’s office, the two leaders discussed a range of issues to promote bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields and vowed to cooperate to fight terrorism.
Raisi and Sharif are also expected to hold a joint news conference later Monday.
Both are expected to sign several cooperation agreements, according to Sharif's office. The two sides will also discuss the multi-billion gas pipeline project, on hold since 2014,. The project - opposed by Washington for what it says is a violation of sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program - launched in 2013 to supply much-needed Iranian natural gas to energy-starved Pakistan.
Iran says it has already completed the pipeline on its side of the border after investing $2 billion. Pakistan was supposed to finish construction on its territory by the end of 2014, but work stalled, leading to tensions between the two nations.
The Iranian president is set to meet with his Pakistani counterpart Asil Ali Zardari who helped launch the pipeline project after travelling to Iran in 2013.
He also met with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. The two discussed regional and global developments and "affirmed commitment to peace and constructive dialogue for resolving regional challenges”.
Raisi is accompanied by his spouse and a high-level delegation. He plans to visit Karachi, the country's biggest city, and Lahore, where he will meet with the country's recently elected first female chief minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif.
The visit comes after Iran's airstrike into Israel, which was in response to an Israeli strike in Syria that had killed two Iranian generals in a consular building. Pakistan is among the countries that holds no diplomatic relations with Israel because of the issue of Palestinian statehood.