Iran's foreign minister to visit Pakistan to rebuild ties

ISLAMABAD－Pakistan said on Monday that Iran's foreign minister will visit the country next week, signaling efforts to mend relations after the neighbors exchanged missile strikes last week at what they said were militant targets.

Ambassadors of both countries have also been asked to return to their posts by Friday, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said. Iran's Foreign Ministry confirmed that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian would visit on Monday, and said its ambassador would resume duties in Islamabad on Friday.

Pakistan had recalled its ambassador to Teheran and had not allowed his counterpart to return to Islamabad. It had also canceled all high-level diplomatic and trade engagements.

"At the invitation of Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, will undertake a visit to Pakistan on 29 January 2024," a Pakistani foreign office statement said.

The tit-for-tat strikes by the two countries were the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years and had raised the alarm about wider instability in the region since the conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted on Oct 7.

On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China is willing to continue to play a positive and constructive role in improving the relations between Iran and Pakistan based on the needs of the two countries.

In response to a query regarding China's mediation between Iran and Pakistan, Wang said at a news briefing that China maintains close communication with Iran and Pakistan.

Iran and Pakistan are friendly neighbors and both are good friends of China, he said.

"China is committed to upholding regional and international peace and stability and supports Iran and Pakistan in continuing to bridge differences through dialogue and consultation," he said.

"We would like to continue to play a positive and constructive role in improving the relations between Iran and Pakistan based on the needs of the two countries."

Agencies - Xinhua