https://arab.news/2gxgg
- The Pakistan-Iran-Iraq conference is being convened on Islamabad’s request
- Thousands of Pakistanis travel to the two countries annually to visit holy sites
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is undertaking an official visit to Tehran to attend a tri-nation conference on pilgrim and border issues, the Pakistani interior ministry said on Sunday.
The conference of interior ministers from Pakistan, Iran and Iraq is being convened on a request from Islamabad, according to the Pakistani interior ministry.
Thousands of Pakistani Shiite Muslims, who travel annually to Iran and Iraq to visit holy sites, have often complained of issues at the border.
“Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi will attend the trilateral conference on pilgrims and border issues in Tehran tomorrow,” the Pakistani interior ministry said on Sunday. “Naqvi will also meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.”
Last month, Pakistan evacuated over 260 nationals from Iraq and another 450 Pakistanis who had been stranded in Iran during the Tehran-Israeli conflict.
The 12-day war between Iran and Israel, which began on June 13 Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and military leadership, raised alarms in a region that was already on edge since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023.
Pakistan remained engaged in talks with regional partners like ֱ, Iran, China and Qatar to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East after Iran conducted retaliatory strikes on Israel and a US base in Qatar, raising fears the conflict could draw in other regional states.