A Ministerial delegation from Pakistan, headed by Mir Hasil Bizenjo, Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping and Maritime Affairs, participated in the inaugural ceremony of first phase of the Chah Bahar Port in Iranian Balochistan and sent it a clear message to all and sundry that both the ports of Gwadar and Chah Bahar will play a complimentary role in future trade development in the entire region.

There is no question of competition between the two ports operating at a distance of 72 kilometers and both the ports are located on the Mekran Coast. In next decade or two, more than a dozen ports and naval bases will operate on the Mekran Coast.

The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the port facilities and Mir Hasil Bizenjo was seen close to him in the official photograph of the Iranian Government released to the media.

The Iranian Government had formally invited Pakistan Government to participate in the inauguration ceremony and Pakistan sent a high powered delegation to attend the ceremony.

It indicated that Pakistan’s relations with Iran had improved markedly as Tehran responded more positively in defending the legitimate interests of Pakistan and the Iranian soil is not being used against Pakistan.

The recent developments in the region had compelled both the countries to come to closer and cooperate in defending their legitimate interests. When India was disappointed over the Gwadar Port in mid 1990s, it provided help to Iran to build the Chah Bahar Port parallel to Gwadar.

Now India is providing 500 million US dollars for expansion and improvement in services at the Chah Bahar Port besides building a railway line connect Chah Bahar with Zahedan. The Chah Bahar-Zahedan Railway line will be parallel to the Quetta-Zehdan Railways as Pakistan Government failed to upgrade the track for international trade, Iran lost all hopes and contacted India to build the parallel railway line. Otherwise, Iran would have been relying heavily on Pakistan with rail facility.

At the moment, India had started using Chah Bahar Port and recently dispatched two ship loads of wheat to Afghanistan using the Iranian territory.

Besides this, the Indian Government is building a huge fertilizer Plant worth over billions of US dollars to meet domestic needs of fertilizer in India using Iranian natural gas at Chah Bahar port city and its industrial zone. Thus India-Iran relations are confined to economic cooperation and trade and Iran kept India at bay in relations with regional security. India had joined US and Afghanistan presumably to advance the US interests which Iran resented and disapproved strongly.

The breakthrough in security relations between Pakistan and Iran was reported following a visit to Iran by the COAS, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, in recent weeks exchanging views on issues of mutual interests. After that visit, relations between Iran and Pakistan improved markedly. Pakistan is taking concrete measures to strengthen security all along the porous borders with Iran and Afghanistan which had been ignored in the past.

In addition to improving security close to the borders with Iranian Balochistan, the plan meant to check infiltration of terrorists and subversive elements in Pakistan carrying out terrorist activities at will.

On the contrary, the opponent of the Iranian Government are claiming that the clerical regime is interested in concluding a military alliance comprising Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Pakistan to expel US and NATO forces from the region ensuring peace and security. There is no confirmation of it from all the four countries. It is a claimed made by opponents of Iranian regime and the Arab Media highlighted it considering it an anti-Arab alliance.