PM Shehbaz, Iran president hold 'productive' discussions in Islamabad as both sides hail brotherly relations

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday addressed a joint press briefing in Islamabad. The Iranian president is on a one-day official visit to Pakistan at PM Shehbaz’s invitation. The press briefing is taking place after the two leaders held a meeting at the Prime Minister House, which was followed by delegation-level talks. PM Shehbaz said he and President Pezeshkian held “very productive discussions in a very cordial atmosphere”. “It was like a family reunion, and brothers were talking to each other with the fullest clarity and total commitment that we will do everything to strengthen our brotherly relations like never before,” he remarked. He noted that Islamabad and Tehran have “consistently stood by one another in difficult times, and recent events have once again demonstrated beyond any ray of doubt the enduring strength of this brotherhood, this friendship and this partnership”. The premier began his speech by reciting an Iranian couplet on the themes of friendship during challenging times. PM Shehbaz described Pezeshkian as a “visionary and sagacious leader of a great country, Iran”. “But you’re a man of many talents and qualities — you are calm, you are wise and you are patient,” he added. Recalling the Iranian president’s past treatment of patients in hospitals, PM Shehbaz congratulated him on “this very well-deserved conferment”. He termed today a “historic moment between Pakistan and Iran”. Recalling the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed last week between the United States and Iran, the premier said it was “a matter of great happiness that this war has come to an end, which could have engulfed the entire region and beyond”. The prime minister hailed the “sagacious” leadership of Pezeshkian and his colleagues, and highlighted Pakistan’s role as an “honest and sincere mediator” in the US-Iran peace process. PM Shehbaz also announced he would be undertaking a visit to Tehran next week to pay respects to lat