The Chief of General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday on a three-day visit, local news agencies have reported. He is being accompanied by a high-ranking military and security delegation from Iran.
Bagheri was received by Pakistan Army's Chief of Logistics Staff, Lieutenant General Saqib Mehmood Malik, at a military airbase in Islamabad.
“We will discuss the development of communications for more security on the long and common borders of Iran and Pakistan,” Bagheri was quoted as saying by a local newspaper after his arrival. He added that Afghanistan, which both countries had common concerns about, would also be an important topic of discussion.
On Wednesday, the Iranian general had a meeting with Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Nadeem Raza in Islamabad.
Later Bagheri attended a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan, and other senior Pakistani officials, in which strengthening of bilateral relations, including economic, energy and defense cooperation, and border security were stressed, and the situation in Afghanistan was discussed. Iran's Ambassador to Pakistan, Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini, and Iran’s Defense attaché Colonel Mosatafa Qanbarpour, were also present at this meeting in Islamabad, according to local media.
Members of the Iranian delegation will also be travelling to Karachi on the second leg of their tour, where they will be visiting military and naval centres.
The Iranian delegation's trip to Pakistan is aimed at strengthening military, defense and security ties between the two neighbouring countries, and is believed by experts to be of importance, especially with the current situation in Afghanistan.
