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Iran invites Pakistan to participate in Chabahar, connect with Gawadar

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Iran invites Pakistan to participate in Chabahar, connect with Gawadar

Alleys Pak’ concern over India’s role in Iranian port

In its efforts to maintain balance in friendly ties with India and Pakistan, Iran has, on Monday, invited Islamabad to participate in Chabahar sea-port and development of its link with Gawadar port and sought to alley Pakistan’s concern over Indian involvement in the Iranian port.

According to Dawn, Iranian Foreign Minister Dr Javad Zarif, who is on a three-day visit to Pakistan and held meetings with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and his counterpart Khwaja Asif, invited Pakistan to this effect. He is accompanied with a large trade delegation from Iran.

While delivering a lecture at Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) Zarif said, “We offered to participate in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). We have also offered Pakistan and China to participate in Chahbahar.” The lecture was held to commemorate 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Dawn observed, “Pakistan had always been concerned about Indian involvement in Chahbahar port. These concerns got amplified after Iran last month signed a lease agreement with India, which would give operational control of the port to the latter”.

Meanwhile, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), the official news agency said that Prime Minister has said that the two countries should work together and make their utmost efforts for enhancing the bilateral trade to $5bn by 2021.He reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to enhance mutually beneficial economic cooperation and expressed desire to resolve issues in implementation of Iran-Pakistan pipeline project.

Abbasi said that Pakistan was working towards realising its vision of a peaceful and inter-connected region for shared progress and prosperity. “We believe that a peaceful and stable Afghanistan is vital for economic progress of the region and Pakistan and Iran as the two neighboring countries can make important contribution for achieving this objective,” he remarked.

Dawn reports that PM Abbasi thanked the Iranian leadership for their “steadfast support to the principled struggle of Kashmiris”. This was in obvious reference with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s statement in June last year when he clubbed the situation in Bahrain, Kashmir and Yemen saying that the Muslim world must “express their disdain against the oppressors”.

The Iranian foreign minister appreciated the increasing high-level interaction between the two countries and Islamabad’s efforts for strengthening border management.

Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif said that Tehran’s relations with New Delhi are not against Islamabad. He emphasized that both Gwadar and Chahbahar were important projects for development of deprived Eastern and South-eastern Iran and South Western Pakistan and said that both needed to be linked through sea and land routes for effecting their complementarities.

Zarif clearly said, “We are taking measures to do that and there is an open invitation to Pakistan to participate in that.” He further clarified that Chahbahar port project was not meant to “encircle Pakistan … strangulate anybody”. He twice said Iran would not allow anybody to hurt Pakistan from its territory much like Pakistan would not allow its soil to be used against Iran.

Equating Iran’s relations with India to Pakistan’s ties with Saudi Arabia Iran’s foreign minister said, “Our relations with India, just like Pakistan’s relations with Saudi Arabia, are not against Pakistan as we understand Pakistan’s relations with Saudi Arabia are not against Iran.”  Observers believe that Iranian official expressed his country’s concern  over Pakistan ties with Saudi Arabia in a crafty and skilful manner.

Dr Zarif also described his vision for better ties with Pakistan including the realisation of long delayed Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, establishment of banking ties, signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and making Gawadar and Chahbahar ports complementary.

The gas pipeline was originally proposed to originate from Iran and supply gas to Pakistan and India under Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) project. India had expressed concern over the security of the pipeline passing through Pakistan following US pressure to desist from realizing the dream project.

Iran had called the project as “peace pipeline” and assured the safe delivery of the gas at India-Pakistan border connecting Sind-Rajasthan provinces. Later, Pakistan has also not built the required pipeline in its territory. However, Iran has completed the laying of the pipeline till its border with Pakistan.

Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had threatened that Washington would consider the implementation of IPI gas pipeline project as if Tehran’s alleged nuclear program was being promoted by the partner countries.

In April 2017, the State Bank of Pakistan had signed a Banking and Payment Arrangement (BPA) with Iran’s central bank, Bank Markazi Jomhouri Islami Iran (BMJII) for providing a trade settlement mechanism to promote bilateral trade.  But due to lack of interest or obvious pressure this arrangement could not be implemented.

Dawn further reports that similarly, there is a consensus that IP gas project is beneficial for Pakistan’s economy, but still it is frozen on the Pakistani end due to external and internal factors.

Meanwhile the statement issued by the foreign office after meeting between the two foreign ministers said: “The two sides agreed to continue engagement for enhancing economic cooperation, including bilateral trade, investments and commercial interaction to promote shared prosperity … addressing tariff and non-tariff barriers” in addition to concluding FTA on priority.

“The Foreign Ministers underlined that as two brotherly neighboring countries Iran and Pakistan would deepen connectivity between the two sister ports of Gawadar and Chahbahar to benefit from their complementarities,” the statement added.

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US reiterates its call for fair, transparent, legal process for Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, speaks on Congress frozen accounts

The US spokesperson said that they are also aware of the Congress party’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections.

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A day after India summoned an US diplomat over their remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor policy case, the US reiterated its call for fair, transparent, timely legal processes on Wednesday.

Responding to questions on India summoning Gloria Berbena, the US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that they will continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Notably, the meeting at the foreign ministry’s South Block office lasted nearly 40 minutes yesterday with India objecting strongly to the US remarks on the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal.

Matthew Miller also responded to a question on the Congress party’s frozen bank accounts. The US spokesperson said that they are also aware of the Congress party’s allegations that tax authorities have frozen some of their bank accounts in a manner that will make it challenging to effectively campaign in the upcoming elections. He added that the US encourages fair, transparent and timely legal processes for each of the issues.

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested last week by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection to the Delhi liquor policy scam. Earlier, AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh were arrested in the same case.

The External Affairs Ministry had earlier stated that states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others, and this responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies, adding that it could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents.

The Ministry further emphasized that India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. It mentioned that casting aspersions on India’s legal procedure is unwarranted.

The United State’s remarks followed days after Germany’s Foreign Office stressed that Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is entitled to a fair and impartial trial. The Indian government labelled their remark as blatant interference in internal matters.

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5 Chinese nationals killed in suicide bomb attack in Pakistan

This is the third major attack on Chinese interests in Pakistan within a week.

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Nearly five Chinese nationals were killed in an explosion during an attack on their convoy by a suicide bomber in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday. Reportedly, the suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers travelling from Islamabad to their camp in Dasu, situated in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Regional police chief Mohammad Ali Gandapur said that five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in the attack. As yet, none has claimed responsibility for the attack. Bisham Station House Officer (SHO) Bakht Zahir asserted that the incident was a suicide blast and the authorities concerned were collecting the evidence.

The Station House Officer further added that security arrangements were tightened at the spot and the bodies were being shifted to a hospital. He added that they will investigate from where and how the vehicle of a suicide bomber came and how it happened. Notably, this is the third major attack on Chinese interests in Pakistan within a week.

Previously, two attacks hit an airbase and a strategic port in the southwest province of Balochistan where China is investing billions in infrastructure projects. Several Chinese engineers and Pakistani construction workers have for multiple years been working on hydroelectric projects as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative in the western province of Khyber-Paktunkhwa.

Notably, Dasu is home to a significant dam project, has been a target of previous attacks. Earlier in 2021, the attack in Dasu resulted in the deaths of nine Chinese nationals, along with two Pakistani children. The incident occured when a bus carrying Chinese engineers and workers to the Dasu Hydropower Project site was targeted.

There was confusion surrounding the nature of the attack initially, with some reports suggesting it was a bus accident. Nonetheless, subsequent investigations revealed that it was indeed a terrorist attack. The bus was hit by a blast, leading it to plunge into a ravine.

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US bridge collapses after being hit by ship

The rescuers were searching for at least 7 people in the water. Some reports said upto 20 construction workers were there on the Baltimore Bridge at the time of the incident. A video of the incident which was widely shared on social media showed the moment the 3 km long bridge collapsed.

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Major portions of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, US collapsed on early Tuesday morning after it was hit by a large container ship. The incident occurred at nearly 1.30 am (US local time). The Baltimore City Fire department said the collapse is a mass casualty incident.

According to reports many vehicles fell into the river below. The rescuers were searching for at least 7 people in the water. Some reports said upto 20 construction workers were there on the Baltimore Bridge at the time of the incident. A video of the incident which was widely shared on social media showed the moment the 3 km long bridge collapsed.

It seems the vessel had hit one of the supports of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the roadway to break apart in many places and plunge into the water. The ship caught fire and appeared to sink. Grace Ocean Pte Ltd, the registered owner of the ship, and the manager, Synergy Marine Group, said it is a Singapore flagged ship Dali which collided with a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.

He said the exact cause of the incident is yet to be determined; the Dali has now mobilized its qualified individual Incident response service. It added that all crew members, including the 2 pilots who were aboard, have been accounted for and there are no reports of injuries.

The local traffic police said all lanes on both directions of the bridge have been closed and the traffic is being de-toured. Maryland Governor Wes Moore also declared a state of emergency after the collapse of the bridge. The bridge was opened in 1977, spans the Patapsco River, a vital artery that along with the Port of Baltimore is a hub for shipping on the East Coast. It is named after the writer of the Star Spangled Banner.  

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