Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, met Monday morning with Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and his accompanying delegation. Eshaq Jahangiri, Vice President of Iran, was also present in the meeting. Speaking at the meeting, His Eminence stated that the main reason behind the good and friendly relations between Iran and Pakistan is the great cultural and religious attachments between the two countries. Expressing his dissatisfaction at the decrease of relations between Iran and Pakistan in economic areas, he reiterated: "There are certain hands which try to create discord between the people of Iran and Pakistan - who are two close friends - by causing insecurity in the common borders of Iran and Pakistan. But we should not allow the great opportunity for strengthening the relations between the two countries to be lost."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution stressed the necessity of strengthening the relations between Iran and Pakistan and implementing great economic projects such as the Iran-Pakistan gas pipelines projects, further saying: "I hope that during your term, good measures will be adopted to strengthen the relations between the two countries."
Ayatollah Khamenei mentioned that Iran and Pakistan should not wait for others' approval to strengthen their relations, adding: "America - whose malevolence is clear to everyone - is one of the governments which tries to create a gap between Iran and Pakistan. Of course, besides America, there are other governments which are active in this regard."
Pointing to a number of insecurities in the border areas of Iran and Pakistan during recent months, His Eminence said: "Some people deliberately try to cause insecurity along the long borders of the two countries and we cannot believe that these events are normal and unintentional."
He reiterated: "We have certain information about the activities of some people in Pakistan's Baluchistan province with the purpose of causing insecurity in the border areas of the two countries."
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution described takfiri groups as a great danger for all Muslims - including Shia and Sunni Muslims - saying: "If takfiri groups are not confronted, they will do more harm to the world of Islam."
Referring to his good memories of the Leader's trip to Lahore, Nawaz Sharif stated: "At that time, I was the Chief Minister of Punjab with Lahore as its capital. The warm welcome that the Leader received from the people of Pakistan shows the depth of cultural, religious and historical attachments between the two peoples."
The Prime Minister of Pakistan pointed to his negotiations in Tehran and said: "I will do my best to improve the economic relations between the two countries, to raise the level of economic interactions even more than a few years ago when the economic interactions between Iran and Pakistan reached three billion dollars. I will also try to give fresh impetus to the gas pipeline project."
He expressed regret at the recent insecurities in the border areas of Iran and Pakistan, adding: "I will assure you that the government of Pakistan will do its best to confront the agents of these insecurities and to support the measures that the Islamic Republic adopts."