Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (FNA)- Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza held talks on Sunday with Iran’s Guardians Council Chairman Ahmad Jannati on bilateral relations, regional security, and West’s misperceptions about Islam.
Mirza said Iran and Pakistan are bonded in the eternal ties of religion, culture and history, and reiterated the two countries’ common views and perceptions of all regional and global issues.
She said Pakistan believes in peaceful solution of international problems and wants peace in Iraq and Afghanistan as it is essential for the establishment of peace and prosperity in the region.
The speaker said new parliament in Pakistan was facing such challenges as energy shortages, inflation, and poverty in the country for which it needed time and support of friendly countries like Iran.
She also underlined the need for an early start and rapid completion of the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project.
The senior lawmaker called for enhancing investment and economic cooperation between the two countries, and stressed the need for an increased exchange of parliamentary delegations in a bid to strengthen ties between Tehran and Pakistan.
The Pakistani speaker said Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance that abhors terrorism and extremism.
She added it is the responsibility of religious scholars to play their role to remove the misperceptions of the West about Islam.
The speaker said that the Muslim Ummah was confronting challenges that can be resolved through forging unity among the Islamic countries.
She said there were misperceptions in the western countries about Islam and urged religious scholars and media to play their role to dispel West’s misunderstandings in this regard.
For his part, Ayatollah Jannati said Iran appreciates Pakistan’s stance on regional issues, including Iran’s nuclear issue.
He further hailed the speaker’s election as the first woman speaker of the Muslim world and termed it a blessing for Pakistan and the entire Muslim Ummah (nation).
Paying tributes to the late Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, he said that her assassination was an irreparable loss to Pakistan and the Muslim World.
The Guardians Council of Iran is a powerful body with vast Legislative and Executive jurisdictions, which forms a corner stone of Iran’s Constitution. It, with the status of Senate is also authorized to examine all Parliamentary decisions as to their consistency with the tenets of Islam and the country’s Constitution.
