The Pakistan-Iran border reopened on Tuesday as Chief of Defence Forces and Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir held high-level talks in Tehran, according to The Express Tribune. The reopening brings relief to communities on both sides whose livelihoods and movement depend on the crossing.
Field Marshal Munir, accompanied by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, met President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and General Mohsen Rezaei, the Supreme Leader's representative and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. The paper said it was his fifth visit to Iran in recent months.
'The issues have been resolved'
Iranian readouts quoted the field marshal as saying that the issues concerning the border had been resolved and that it had reopened that morning. In his meeting with Ghalibaf, he described the recent border problems as 'temporary and technical'.
There was no official Pakistani statement by the time the report was filed, but an official familiar with the visit told the paper the talks went 'very well' and confirmed the border had reopened.
A delicate balancing act
According to The Express Tribune, unlike earlier trips this visit came as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis repeatedly struck Saudi energy, airport and other infrastructure. Pakistan has pledged to defend Saudi Arabia under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement while staying closely engaged with Tehran and trying to revive stalled Iran-US diplomacy.
Iranian readouts said Rezaei told the army chief that Iran would not allow its enriched nuclear material to leave the country, and that Tehran would not negotiate until Washington met Iran's conditions to restore trust.