Pezeshkian urges joint effort to fight terrorism in calls with Modi, Sharif
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday called for regional cooperation to root out terrorism as he spoke with Indian and Pakistani leaders following a deadly attack by gunmen in Indian-run Kashmir.
India blamed Pakistan for the April 22 attack on tourists in Pahalgam which left 26 civilians dead. However, Islamabad has denied involvement and expressed readiness for a neutral probe into the incident.
Speaking with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pezeshkian “strongly” condemned the “inhumane” act of terror, IRNA reported.
“Such bitter incidents double the shared responsibility of all regional countries… to help to eradicate the roots of terrorism,” he told Modi on the phone.
He urged New Delhi to continue to follow in the footsteps of its prominent national figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, “who were the messengers of peace.”
Modi, for his part, echoed Pezeshkian’s calls for a collective approach to the fight against terrorism, saying regional countries needed “unity and all-out cooperation” to address the issue.
The Iranian president also phoned Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to highlight the need for “greater cooperation” among regional nations to “combat the sinister phenomenon of terrorism” and “destroy the financial and military infrastructure of terrorist groups.”
“Such terrorist acts… lead to new conflicts and tensions among regional countries,” he warned.
Sharif described Pakistan a victim of terrorism and said Islamabad was open to cooperate for a “comprehensive and transparent inquiry” into the recent incident.
Pezeshkian invited both leaders to visit Iran. The two also offered their condolences over a deadly explosion that ripped through a key port in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday.