ID :
197523
Wed, 07/27/2011 - 10:18
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/197523
The shortlink copeid
Pakistan Views Iran as Model of Resistance, Progress
TEHRAN (FNA)- Pakistani politicians said their country views Iran as a role model of resistance and progress and it has, thus, initiated efforts to promote ties and cooperation with Iran in defiance of the US demands and policies.
Sunni Pakistan is signaling a shift in its regional priorities by deliberately drawing closer to neighboring Shiite Iran, despite resistance from fellow Sunni Saudi Arabia, Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin said.
Significantly, the move to link with Iran is also in open opposition to US goals for the region.
"Evidently, there is growing consternation in Riyadh that a tilt in the 'balance of forces' in the Persian Gulf region may ensue if Tehran and Islamabad draw closer together," said M. K. Bhadrakumar, former career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service.
He said that collaboration between Islamabad and Tehran contradicts the Saudi notion that the Shiite-Sunni schism is the dominant view of Middle East politics. Iran and Pakistan increasingly have been in harmony on Afghanistan, the rise of terrorism in the region and on increasing economic cooperation.
They are also considering setting up a trilateral mechanism that also involves Afghanistan to counter drug trafficking.
In recent discussions, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei told Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari that the "real enemy" of Pakistan and national unity is the West "and the US on top of it." Zardari said that Pakistan regards Iran as a "model of resistance and path to progress".
Iran and Pakistan want to set up a free-trade agreement and have a currency-swap arrangement to allow them to use their countries' two national currencies in bilateral trade transactions. They also plan to complete a gas pipeline project by 2015. The pipeline means that Pakistan could receive up to 50 percent of its energy needs from Iran.
"The project holds the potential to elevate the Iran-Pakistan relationship from the realm of rhetoric and hyperbole to a genuinely strategic plane," Bhadrakumar said.
For Iran, developing a close relationship with Pakistan is a boon since it is a major Sunni country and a traditional ally of Saudi Arabia.
Sunni Pakistan is signaling a shift in its regional priorities by deliberately drawing closer to neighboring Shiite Iran, despite resistance from fellow Sunni Saudi Arabia, Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin said.
Significantly, the move to link with Iran is also in open opposition to US goals for the region.
"Evidently, there is growing consternation in Riyadh that a tilt in the 'balance of forces' in the Persian Gulf region may ensue if Tehran and Islamabad draw closer together," said M. K. Bhadrakumar, former career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service.
He said that collaboration between Islamabad and Tehran contradicts the Saudi notion that the Shiite-Sunni schism is the dominant view of Middle East politics. Iran and Pakistan increasingly have been in harmony on Afghanistan, the rise of terrorism in the region and on increasing economic cooperation.
They are also considering setting up a trilateral mechanism that also involves Afghanistan to counter drug trafficking.
In recent discussions, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei told Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari that the "real enemy" of Pakistan and national unity is the West "and the US on top of it." Zardari said that Pakistan regards Iran as a "model of resistance and path to progress".
Iran and Pakistan want to set up a free-trade agreement and have a currency-swap arrangement to allow them to use their countries' two national currencies in bilateral trade transactions. They also plan to complete a gas pipeline project by 2015. The pipeline means that Pakistan could receive up to 50 percent of its energy needs from Iran.
"The project holds the potential to elevate the Iran-Pakistan relationship from the realm of rhetoric and hyperbole to a genuinely strategic plane," Bhadrakumar said.
For Iran, developing a close relationship with Pakistan is a boon since it is a major Sunni country and a traditional ally of Saudi Arabia.
