TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iranian Navy commander Rear Admiral Khanzadi said Iran is waiting for Pakistan’s response to join an upcoming joint wargame with Russia and China in the Indian Ocean, dubbed ‘Maritime Security Belt’.

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Pakistan’s opposition Muslim League had earlier sought unconditional permission to take the ailing former PM Nawaz Sharif, to London for treatment, warning Prime Minister Imran Khan that if anything happened to Sharif, he would be responsible for it.

The family of Nawaz Sharif wanted to take the ailing leader out of the country for treatment and asked the government to remove his name from the Exit Control List (ECL) to facilitate travel abroad. The Interior Ministry subsequently granted the former premier a “one-time” conditional permission to travel abroad. PML-N, however, rejected the condition and challenged it in the Lahore High Court.

Responding to PML-N’s charges, Prime Minister Imran Khan said he holds no grudge against Nawaz Sharif and that the health of the ailing former premier was more important than politics. According to reports, Khan told the core committee of his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice) that the government had facilitated at every forum to get the name of Sharif off of the Exit Control List (ECL).

Imran Khan, however, regretted that PML-N and the family of Sharif were playing politics with the health of the 69-year-old politician. He said the family’s first priority should be taking him abroad for treatment, instead of wrangling over the issue, Sputnik reported.

Sharif has been in the custody of the federal anti-corruption watchdog, National Accountability Bureau since December 2018 after he was sentenced to seven years in prison on corruption charges, which the former premier had called politically motivated.

As Sharif’s health deteriorated in detention, the Lahore High Court granted him bail on medical grounds, while the Islamabad High Court suspended the seven-year jail-term for treatment.

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World leaders should not compare Iran with other countries and should understand how dangerous it will be to wage war against it, Imran Khan added.

Pakistan will do its best to reduce tensions in the region, he stressed.

Tensions in the region initially erupted after Washington withdraw from the nuclear deal and imposed economic sanctions on Iran, mainly targeting its oil revenues. US hostile policies didn’t end here as Trump administration also designated Iran’s IRGC, which is in charge of providing the Persian Gulf with security, as a foreign terrorist organization and also in their latest measure, imposed sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif; a measure which many experts believe to prove the empty claims of US about readiness for talks with Iran.

After Iran seized a UK-flagged oil tanker in the Persian Gulf because it had failed to abide by international maritime regulations, US proposed to establish a coalition in the Persian Gulf claiming it to be aimed at securing international waters but believed to be a coalition against Iran; this can eventually escalate the already tense situation in the Middle East.

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“Any incident in Afghanistan will affect the border areas of Pakistan too. Pakistan is seeking for a quiet area and in this regard needs to cooperate with Iran,” he added.

Iran and Pakistan have suffered the most amount of losses because of insecurity in Afghanistan, he said, adding that one of the common goals of the two countries could be close cooperation for establishing stability in Afghanistan.

He noted that economic prosperity in Pakistan will not be achieved in the absence of stability and security in the region.

He also highlighted his country’s resolve to prevent militant groups from carrying out terrorist acts against other countries from the Pakistani soil.

In the same vein, Rouhani announced the signing of an agreement on the formation of a rapid reaction force to confront the terrorist groups between Tehran and Islamabad.

Khan’s visit to Tehran on April 22 came at a critical time when the two sides can take advantage of vast opportunities to enhance bilateral cooperation in various fields. Imran Khan’s official visit to Iran was to fortify Pakistan-Iran relations and call for unity between the two countries. He had formal meetings with Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and a number of other senior officials and businesspersons.

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Discussing bilateral ties with a number of senior Iranian figures and meeting with Iranian and Pakistani businesspersons are on Khan’s agenda during his visit to Tehran.

He will also meet with Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei later today.

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