Photo courtesy PID
In a joint statement issued after the conclusion of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s three-day visit to Pakistan, Islamabad and Tehran said they held “productive discussions” covering a diverse range of issues, indicating a boost in ties damaged earlier this year by tit-for-tat aerial strikes targeting militants. This is a welcome development for two nations with a storied history of bilateral ties going back to Partition in 1947. Under King Reza Shah Pehlavi, Iran was the first country to formally recognize Pakistan after Partition, with the neighboring nations sharing a common outlook in their foreign and security policies. They were also members, with Turkey, of the U.S.-aligned Central Treaty Organization and the Regional Cooperation for Development, facing security concerns from the Soviet Union. In the 1965 Pak-Indo war, Iran voiced concern over Indian aggression against Pakistan and, with Turkey, supported Islamabad by sending military aid and oil. Iran similarly supported Pakistan during the 1971 Pak-Indo war, going so far as to say it would not tolerate any attempt to liquidate Pakistan.
Ties started to fray after 1971, however, as Iran emerged as a regional power due to its oil revenues and Britain’s exit from the east of Suez, while Pakistan was weakened by the secession of Bangladesh. The major turning point, however, came with the Islamic Revolution, as the neighboring nations’ differing ideological bases increasingly influenced their outlook toward each other. The Islamic Revolution also pushed Iran away from Gulf states, even as Pakistan shared strategic interests with Arab kingdoms, especially in Afghanistan.
In the 1990s, then-prime minister Benazir Bhutto made an attempt to mend ties by importing gas from Iran, but political uncertainty within Pakistan and heightened levels of sectarian violence hampered it. After the events of 9/11, Pakistan grew closer to the U.S., further pushing it away from Iran, though engagements continued and Islamabad once even played the role of messenger between the U.S. and Iran, and also Sunni powers in the Middle East and Iran.
Bilateral ties saw another boost under the PPP-led government of 2008-2013, as it proactively engaged with Pakistan’s western neighbor in the trade and energy sectors, including by approving the Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline project. However, these efforts were dampened by the threat of U.S. sanctions and opposition from Saudi Arabia, which “compensated” Islamabad with aid and loans. Pakistan will have to tread carefully in its current attempt at reviving ties with Iran, as the U.S. has already issued veiled warnings, and the threat of pushback from Arab nations has yet to fully end.