Pakistan: Pakistan and Iran have reached an agreement to ease tension in the two countries following a phone call between Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Jalil Abbas Jilani, and the Foreign Minister of Iran, Mr. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
The two countries’ ties were unstable after the exchange of missile and drone attacks this week.
“The two foreign ministers agreed that working-level cooperation and close coordination on counterterrorism 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,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
All of the chiefs of the armed forces came to a meeting called by Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister, Mr. Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, on Friday to talk about the current crisis.
According to a statement from Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s office, Friday’s national security review found that “the two countries would mutually be able to overcome minor irritants through dialogue and diplomacy and pave the way to further deepen their historic relations.”
It also decided that Pakistan would “respond with full might of the state” to any attempts to breach its borders. In order to address security concerns, it urged Iran to use the current channels of communication.
In the southwestern border province of Balochistan, Iran launched a missile and drone attack on the armed group Jaish al-Adl on Tuesday night. On Thursday, Pakistan struck targets belonging to the armed group inside Iran.
Pakistan withdrew its ambassador from Tehran and claimed that Iran’s envoy was prevented from going back to Islamabad while on a home visit.