Iran, Pakistan should not squable over Afghanistan: Rafsanjani

TEHRAN—Iranian former president Hashmi Rafsanjani has said a peaceful and united neighbouring Afghanistan is in the interest of Tehran and Islamabad adding relations between Iran and Pakistan are more important than Afghanistan issue as this matter can not isolate both the countries from each other at any cost.
“Being a neighbouring country, a peaceful and united Afghanistan will be better in the interest of Tehran and Islamabad. The bilateral ties between Pakistan and Iran are more significant than Afghanistan issue. This matter can in no way alienate Pakistan and Iran from each other”, he said this while talking to Pakistani journalists Friday. .
Iran former president said he liked Pakistan. “ I undertook several visits of Pakistan. However I was not satisfied over the level of relations between the two counties during my stint of presidency”, he added.
Had Pakistan and Iran cooperated with each other over Afghanistan issue, the situation would have not been what prevails over there. If the bilateral ties between the two countries grow weaker due to Afghanistan issue, it will not be in their interest, he cautioned. The need is there that both Islamabad and Tehran show sincerity and cooperate with each other on Afghanistan issue. There is distance between the two governments, he said and warned that Iran however can not like interference from any third country in the bilateral relations between Iran and Pakistan.
Rafsanjani told he had proposed to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto not to cooperate with Taliban. Being a woman, Benazir did not want protection for Taliban as she knew it well what opinion Taliban held about women. But she could not control them as they were in overwhelming majority in Pakistani seminaries. Former Iranian president told that Iran and Pakistan played the role as host to Afghan refugees but the inflow of drug trafficking from Afghanistan affected the relations between the both countries.
He went on to say that terrorism is not only spreading into Afghanistan but also in Iraq and Somalia. The situation in Iraq is worse than Afghanistan due to presence of US there. About Balochistan he said that the deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan is a matter of grave concern for Iran. We want to expand cooperation further on the security related matters. On gas pipeline project he said US pressure is a major barrier in laying this pipeline. However improvement in the relations between Pakistan and India will help remove these irritants. “ I am fully confident that the pipeline project will soon be materialized as Iran has good relations with people of Pakistan.
The Iraq problem will not be resolved easily, he warned. The problems facing Lebanon and Palestine are also of serious nature. Israel had to suffer a crushing defeat in Lebanon, he added. Occupation forces in Afghanistan had acknowledged on many occasions that they can not win war in war wracked country, he added. The presence of US troops in this region is aimed at redrawing map of Middle East. However US will have to meet failure in its objectives, he cautioned.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani has rubbished the idea often heard in Pakistan that his country had tried to bribe Islamabad to get access to sophisticated nuclear technology for producing bombs. He also denied that Dr A.Q. Khan had in anyway helped Iran in its nuclear programme. Asked to comment on Ms Benazir Bhutto’s claim quoting Gen Mirza Aslam Beg, who was army chief when she was prime minister, that Iran had offered as much as 12 billion dollars to Pakistan to acquire nuclear technology, Mr Larijani said he had met Gen Beg several times, but according to his knowledge no such offer was ever made by Tehran to Islamabad.—Agencies