Iranian, Pakistani ambassadors resume diplomatic duties: Official

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 Jan 2024 01:53

The Pakistani Ambassador to Tehran and the Iranian Ambassador to Islamabad return to their respective posts earlier in the day.

Convener, World Minorities Alliance (WMA) and Former Federal Minister for Population Welfare of Pakistan, Julius Salik (C) showers rose petals to celebrate after Pakistan and Iran agreed to de-escalate tensions, in Islamabad on January 20, 2024. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP)

A senior official from the Iranian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Friday the return of both the Iranian and Pakistani ambassadors to their respective posts.

Rasoul Mousavi, the Director-General of the South Asian Affairs Department at Iran's Foreign Ministry, announced that Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, the Pakistani Ambassador to Tehran, and Reza Amiri Moqaddam, Iran's Ambassador to Islamabad, resumed their diplomatic duties earlier in the day.

Mousavi emphasized the "very heavy" responsibility of the two countries' mass media in strengthening friendly and fraternal ties between Iran and Pakistan.

This follows a joint statement issued by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Pakistani counterpart, Jalil Abbas Jilani, on Monday, following a prior telephone conversation.

As part of the ongoing diplomatic efforts, Amir-Abdollahian is scheduled to travel to Pakistan on January 29, 2024, at the invitation of the Pakistani Foreign Minister, the statement confirmed. The two ministers also agreed on the return of ambassadors from both countries to their posts by January 26.

The decision for a complete restoration of diplomatic relations between Tehran and Islamabad was initially announced on January 19 by Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, who emphasized that restoring relations to pre-tension levels would be in the mutual interest of both nations.

The announcement came after an emergency security meeting where Kakar, along with Pakistani military and intelligence chiefs, discussed recent tensions between Iran and Pakistan that were triggered by counter-terrorism operations on the border between the two countries.

The escalation started when Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) initiated counter-terrorism ballistic operations targeting Jaish ul-Adl terrorists in insurgent-run territories of Pakistan's Balochistan province. The IRGC executed simultaneous drone and missile attacks on two bases of Jaish ul-Adl, a terror group formed in 2012, responsible for multiple attacks on Iranian soil in recent years.

Despite categorizing Jaish ul-Adl as insurgent terrorists, Pakistan consequently conducted strikes, in response, against what it claimed were bases of anti-Pakistan militants in the border area of Iran's Sistan and Balochistan province.