Pak Sahafat – In 2022, Pakistan witnessed many ups and downs domestically and internationally, the removal of Imran Khan’s government, efforts to strengthen relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, the struggle to restore fragile relations with the United States, as well as the challenges of Shahbaz Sharif’s government with the intensification of the economic crisis and challenge of terrorism is one of the events in Pakistan.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency’s report, in this year, Pakistanis witnessed the most unprecedented inflation, the crisis of livelihood and the prominence of the phenomenon of terrorism. In addition to these problems, the escalation of tensions with Afghanistan, the continuation of tensions with its traditional neighbor India, and the attempt to restore fragile relations with the United States were alongside Islamabad’s strong relations with its strategic partner, Beijing.
The last days of Iran-Pakistan relations in 2022 are passing; A year in which from the beginning to the end we witnessed the exchange of high-level delegations between the two countries and efforts to strengthen friendly relations between Tehran and Islamabad. The high points of these relations during the past year were the visit of the Minister of Interior Ahmad Vahidi to Islamabad, the visit of the Foreign Minister of Pakistan to Tehran, 2 important meetings between the heads of Iran and Pakistan in Samarkand and New York, the trip of Commander Nahaja to Islamabad, the holding of the Joint Economic Commission in Islamabad and the official visit of the President of the joint headquarters of the Pakistan Army was in Iran.
Apart from the important and strategic trip of General Nadim Raza as the then Chief of Joint Staff of the Pakistan Army to Iran Islamabad on November 11, the leaders of Iran and Pakistan who do not miss any opportunity to meet, talk and renew friendly relations between the two neighboring countries. Despite the situation of the Corona epidemic, they also speed up the high-level consultations.
We will discuss some of the important events of Iran-Pakistan relations in 2022, as well as the achievements and challenges of the eastern neighbor inside and outside in the following lines;
January
In this month, Hojjatul Islam Hamid Shahriari, Secretary General of the World Forum for the Approximation of Islamic Religions, made a one-week trip to Pakistan. In the cities of Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, he met with the senior religious leaders of the neighboring country and consulted with Pakistani personalities about strengthening Islamic unity and jointly confronting the factors of division.
Sardar “Ahmed Ali Godarzi”, the commander of border police of the Islamic Republic of Iran, traveled to the city of “Karachi” with the aim of strengthening bilateral cooperation with Pakistan and participating in the international search and rescue exercise.
February
The highest economic coordination committee of the government of Pakistan, in a new move with the aim of promoting bilateral trade cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran, approved the implementation and legalization of the “clearance” plan between the two countries.
Ahmad Vahidi, the Minister of Interior of the Islamic Republic of Iran, visited Pakistan and met with the army commander, his Pakistani counterpart and the prime minister of this country. During this visit, Tehran and Islamabad reached important agreements for strengthening security relations, effective border management, dealing with insecurity factors and the phenomenon of terrorism.
At the end of this month, Brigadier General Hamid Vahedi, commander of the Air Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran, made a three-day trip to this country at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart. He also met with senior military officials including the Pakistan Army Commander.
In this month, the third Pakistan International Trade Fair was held for 3 days in the city of “Karachi” as the heart of Pakistan’s economy, with the participation of 8 companies from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran’s pavilion in this exhibition was widely welcomed by Pakistani companies and producers.
In the same month, Imran Khan, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, went to Moscow at the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation at the head of a high-level political-economic delegation. This visit became a controversial issue for the then government of Islamabad, to the extent that Pakistan reacted sharply to the American protest against Imran Khan’s visit. shows. This is the first visit of a prime minister from Pakistan to Russia in the last 23 years.
March
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart on the sidelines of the meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbors in China, announced the discussion about the latest developments related to the Vienna negotiations, holding the upcoming meeting of the Joint Economic Commission, including the development of cross-border trade.
In the same month, Pakistan hosted the 48th meeting of the foreign ministers of the member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Saeed Khatibzadeh, the spokesman and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, traveled to Islamabad to participate in this meeting.
Tensions between the traditional rivals of the subcontinent entered a new phase with the accidental firing of a missile from India’s territory to Pakistan. The visits of Pakistani military officials also continued this month, during which the Commander of the Pakistan Navy visited Saudi Arabia and the then Chief of the Joint Staff of the Pakistan Armed Forces also visited Germany and Switzerland.
In the same month, Imran Khan, the deposed Prime Minister of Pakistan, announced a foreign conspiracy against his government and then accused America of trying to change the regime in Pakistan. Political tensions in Pakistan intensified after the country’s then government’s sharp reaction to foreign intervention, and the opposition faction decided to vote no-confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the parliament.
April
In this month, Imran Khan’s attempt to prevent the motion of no confidence against him in the Pakistani parliament failed, and finally the opposition faction was able to end the work of the current government with the majority vote of the members of the National Assembly.
Shahbaz Sharif was elected as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan and the new government of this country started. In a message, Ibrahim Raeesi the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, congratulated the election of Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan and expressed hope that the future path will lead to the cooperation between the two countries reaching the desired level of the two great nations of Iran and Pakistan.
Anti-American sentiments intensified in Pakistan at the same time as Imran Khan’s government was overthrown, and various cities of the country witnessed protests against foreign interference in Pakistan’s affairs during this month.
May
Meeting between Zardari and Amir Abdullahian / Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Hussain Amir Abdullahian, the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Iran, met and discussed on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
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The Islamic Republic of Iran, in a humanitarian action and in line with helping the friendly and neighboring country of Pakistan, has sent Ilushin-76 water-sprinkling aircraft to Pakistan to help extinguish the fire in the forests and pastures of Baluchistan province of this country.
June
The trips of high-ranking military and defense officials of Iran and Pakistan have increased significantly during the last year. General Nadeem Reza’s visit to the western neighbor, Iran, as the second in command of the Pakistan Army’s Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time, is a confirmation of the continued flourishing of military relations and the strong determination of the two neighboring and brotherly countries to expand cooperation on a bilateral level. General Nadim Reza met in Tehran with Maj. Gen. Pasdar Mohammad Bagheri, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The visit of Pakistan’s Minister of Energy to Tehran was also held this month. During this trip, an agreement to export 100 megawatts of electricity from the Islamic Republic of Iran to Pakistan’s Baluchistan province was signed between the two countries.
The 9th meeting of the joint border trade committee of Iran and Pakistan was held in Zahedan, focusing on the development of trade relations, border trade, facilitation of customs affairs and transportation.
July
Kazemi Qoumi’s visit to Islamabad with the agenda of Afghanistan / Special Representative of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran on Afghanistan Affairs met with the Foreign Minister and some other Pakistani officials during this visit.
“Efsaneh Hosami Fard”, the Iranian woman mountaineer who has climbed Mount Everest in her brilliant career, this time managed to register her name as the first woman mountaineer from the Islamic Republic of Iran to conquer the K-2 peak known as the Wild Peak in Pakistan.
August / Devastating flood in Pakistan and joint economic commission with Iran
The 21st meeting of the Joint Economic Commission of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan was held in Islamabad with the presence of the Minister of Roads and Urban Development. At the end of this meeting, 3 memorandums of understanding were signed to expand bilateral cooperation in various fields.
A memorandum of cooperation between the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) and the Associated Press of Pakistan as the country’s official news agency was also signed at the end of the meeting of the Joint Economic Commission of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan in Islamabad.
After the devastating flood in different parts of Pakistan and the contact of Ayatollah Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the first shipment of humanitarian aid from the government and nation of our country was delivered to the authorities of this country at the zero point of the border.
September / October
Bilateral meeting between the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan in Samarkand. Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif met with Ayatollah Dr. Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, President of Iran, on the sidelines of the 22nd meeting of the heads of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan.
Only a few days after this meeting, the official meeting of the leaders of the two neighboring countries was held in New York. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, during his trip to New York, during the meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shahbaz Sharif, which took place at the hotel where the president resides, said that the Islamic Republic of Iran has a serious will to expand cooperation and improve the level of relations with Pakistan: Iran has no limits to develop cooperation with Pakistan in commercial, economic, energy and transportation fields.
November
Peyman Salehi, research deputy of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of the Islamic Republic of Iran, traveled to Islamabad to participate in the first meeting of senior officials of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation member countries in the field of science and technology.
The 24th meeting of the Iran-Pakistan Joint Border Commission was hosted by the city of “Zahedan” and the officials of the two countries took important decisions to improve the level of bilateral cooperation in various sectors.
A military delegation representing the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran traveled to the city of Karachi to attend Pakistan’s largest international arms exhibition known as “Ideas 2022”. Amir Brigadier “Nasser Mokhtarzadeh” as the head of the delegation of our country met with “Mohammed Asrar Tareen”, Minister of Defense Production of Pakistan.
At the same time as the political and economic turmoil in Pakistan, the Prime Minister of this country visited China. Shahbaz Sharif also made an official visit to Turkey this month.
The escalation of terrorist attacks in Pakistan in the middle of this month after the end of the ceasefire with the terrorist group Tehreek-e-Taliban became a more serious challenge for the government of Islamabad. After announcing the end of the ceasefire, the Pakistani Taliban resumed its attacks in different areas of the country.
December
The appointment of the new chiefs of the Pakistani army was finally done after the issue became controversial between the government and the opposition faction. General Syed Asim Munir was elected as the new army commander and General Sahir Shamshad Mirza was elected as the chairman of the Joint Staff Committee of Pakistan Armed Forces.
Hosseini, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Pakistan, while congratulating the appointment of the new chiefs of the Pakistani army, visited General Asim Munir and the parties discussed the latest developments related to bilateral relations, especially the strengthening of military, security and border relations.
Certainly, the traffic of Iranian and Pakistani delegations to each other’s countries shows the broad dimensions of the ties between the two nations and the friendly and brotherly government of Iran and Pakistan, which this convergence in cultural, economic, political, security, sports and It is even socially visible.
The record of Pakistan’s internal and external events closes in 2022 while the country is witnessing an unprecedented increase in terrorist incidents along with economic problems and inflation, a situation that has created a potential challenge for Pakistan’s political and military leaders.
In the last hours of the last days of 2022, during a meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan’s National Security Committee emphasized the country’s strong and coordinated determination to fight terrorism and accelerate operations against insecurity factors in various regions of Pakistan.