960404

Mir hamza

Iranian interior minister

due on Monday: Velayati's

tour put off

SIKANDER HAYAT

ISLAMABAD: Iranian Interior Minister Ali Muhammad Basharti will arrive here next Monday for discussions on "matters of mutual interest with special focus on security issues and drug-trafficking".

During his three-day stay, he will also call on President Farooq Leghari and Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and hold talks with his counterpart Naseerullah Babar and Foreign Minister Aseff Ahmed Ali.

Surprisingly, the announcement of Basharti's forthcoming visit came on Thursday, the day Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati was supposed be in Islamabad on a crucial visit. "Unavoidable reasons" have been cited the cause for the postponement of Velayati's visit both by the Pakistan Foreign Office and the Iranian embassy. Both sides also indicated that he might come here towards the end of April.

Knowledgeable sources, however, contend that the foreign minister's visit has been put off because he was primarily coming to deliver a letter to Prime Minister Bhutto from his president inviting her to attend the opening of rail link with Turkmanistan. But the timing was wrong as she was to be in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on April 4 in connection with observance of death anniversary of her father.

Though officials are not prepared to offer any comments on the "security issues" that have beset the bilateral relations of Iran and Pakistan and will be discussed, it is believed that now Basharti will deliver the said letter.

On the eve of Velayati's arrival it was speculated that his visit was to take place at a time when the Pak-Iran bilateral relations were under great stress for a variety of reasons including Washington's concerted moves to diplomatically isolate Tehran.

Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati was here in January and his visit was followed the arrivals of Deputy Foreign Minister Alauddin Bourjerdi and Murtaza Sarmadi. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Najmuddin Sheikh had paid a visit to Tehran. But, apparently differences between the two countries on Afghanistan remained unbridged.

Practically, Iran and Pakistan are firmly committed to helping the rival forces, and with the passage of time this divergence has intensified. While Iran is keen that Rabbani should survive despite having last popular support and former Herat governor Haji Ismail should take back his base, Pakistan is accused of supporting the Taliban forces in the south and west and General Rashid Dostum in the north of Afghanistan.

The latest move for a patch-up between Rabbani and Hizb-i-Islami leader Gulbadin Hekmatyar is believed here to be a handiwork of Iran. India and Russia are also said to be taking the side of Rabbani, partly with the connivance of Tehran.

Ali Muhammad Basharti is expected to take up with his counter-part the remarks made against his government recently by former British premier Margaret Thatcher and previously by US Senior Diplomat Rabin Raphel during their visits here. An Iranian diplomat said "unfortunately, Pakistani soil has been used as platform for vicious propaganda against Iran".

Baroness Thatcher, throwing the diplomatic caution to the wind, called Iran, Libya and Iraq "rogue states" and accused them of clandestinly acquiring nulcear technology and weapons. She thought "Iran is becoming an increasingly unstable entity, rocked by economic failure and political unrest".

Islamabad feels cut up at the Iranian in securing an outlet for Turkmenistan through the rail link it built between its town named Teajan and Turkmenistan city of Sarakha. The officials here had raised high hopes of Pakistan providing the shortest trade route to the newly liberated Central Asia to the open sea.

There are circles here who tend to think that Tehran helped persist confusion and chaos in Afghanistan so that Pakistan could not build providing sea access to the Central Asian countries. Ironically, Interior Minister Naseerullah Babar was to go to Kandhar last week to inaugurate the repair work on the Chaman-Kandhar-Herat-Tourghundi-Turkmenistan road. Since the road construction equipment did not reach there he put off his visit till middle of April.

However, Iranians would like to tell Pakistani officials that they would not like the economic cooperation, which is increasingly, for "difficulties" in the diplomatic and political areas. The $3.5 billion gas pipeline project and 800 million refinery plant project are likely to receive serious attention so that "things can move forward", said the Iranian diplomat. Iranian oil minister is also expected to come to Pakistan shortly to tie up the loose ends in these two projects.