President Masoud Pezeshkian says his trip to Pakistan has opened a new chapter in diplomatic ties between the two neighboring countries, expressing gratitude for the warm welcome extended by Pakistani officials.
“I concluded my first visit to the friendly and brotherly country of Pakistan amid a warm reception from its senior officials,” Pezeshkian wrote on X on Sunday night.
“I sincerely thank the esteemed president, Asif Ali Zardari, my dear brother Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and other political and military leaders of Pakistan.” He said, “A new chapter in diplomatic relations between Iran and Pakistan has begun.”
Pezeshkian arrived in Islamabad on Saturday at the head of a high-ranking political-economic delegation. He was welcomed by Prime Minister Sharif upon arrival. He departed Pakistan late on Sunday.
During his visit, Pezeshkian held a series of high-level meetings with Pakistani leaders, including heads of both chambers of the country’s parliament.
In a meeting with Senate Chairman Yusuf Raza Gilani and National Assembly Speaker Sardar Sadiq, the Iranian president described his talks with Pakistani officials as constructive and forward-looking.
“We believe that the parliaments of Iran and Pakistan will support their governments in strengthening bilateral relations,” Pezeshkian said, expressing appreciation for the Pakistani legislature’s support for Iran following the recent Israeli-American aggression.
He said the Pakistani Senate’s resolution and the National Assembly’s solidarity with the Islamic Republic reflect the “historical brotherhood” between our two nations, he noted.
Pezeshkian also met with a group of prominent Sunni and Shia scholars in Pakistan. Speaking on the Israeli regime’s continued atrocities in Gaza, he said silence in the face of such crimes is tantamount to siding with oppression.
“Our responsibility in the face of these tragedies goes beyond condemnation,” he said. “Remaining silent in the face of the Zionist regime’s oppression is a form of complicity.”
He further reiterated his longstanding belief in justice and unity as the guiding principles of his political life.
“Throughout all my election campaigns, whether for parliament or the presidency, I have stood on two main slogans: the pursuit of justice and the realization of Muslim unity,” Pezeshkian told the scholars.
He added that justice and fairness must be the cornerstone of political and regional relations.
