ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s army chief General Syed Asim Munir met his Iranian counterpart on Sunday, with both sides vowing to eliminate militancy in the border areas between the two countries through intelligence sharing and effective actions against militants, the army’s media wing said.
The development took place after Munir concluded his two-day official visit to Iran, where he met the country’s leading civil and military leadership to discuss defense cooperation between Pakistan and Iran.
Insurgent ethnic Baloch groups in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Iran, say they are fighting for a greater share of regional resources. The Baloch groups operate on both sides of the border. In April, an attack by a Baloch militant group from Iran killed four Pakistani border patrol soldiers.
“Military commanders on both sides agreed that terrorism was a common threat to the region in general and both countries in particular,” a statement by the army’s media wing, the Inter-Serices Public Relations (ISPR) said.
“They vowed to eradicate the menace of terrorism in the border areas through intelligence sharing and effective actions against the terrorists’ networks, and explore avenues for enhancing cooperation in the security domain.”
Munir also met Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahain to discuss Pakistan-Iran bilateral relations for regional peace, the ISPR said.
The two-day trip is General Munir’s first one to Iran after assuming office in November last year. Prior to that, The Pakistani army chief visited China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United Kingdom (UK).