Pakistan's ties with Iran are on shaky ground with Tehran getting impatient with Islamabad's inability or unwillingness to act against militants that it says have committed acts of terrorism on its soil and taken refuge in Pakistan.

On Friday, though, Pakistan's senior security officials for the first time confirmed reports of the arrest of Abdul Raouf Riggi, a much wanted terrorist connected to the shady group Jundullah which is allegedly responsible for carrying out several attacks in Iran.

Though Riggi remains in Pakistan's custody for now, officials in Islamabad believe he would likely be handed over to Iranian authorities eventually. The Riggi incident could mark a unique episode in Pakistan-Iranian relations. If indeed, he is eventually brought to justice in Iran, there could be appreciation by the Iranian authorities for Pakistan's growing support to their campaign against terrorists.

But there is a broader challenge which needs to be tackled in cementing this crucial relationship. As two large and populous countries located next to each other alongside the north of the world's most vital oil supply lanes, Pakistan and Iran must not only cooperate to their own benefit but indeed also to the benefit of others.

At the same time, global players, notably the US, must begin appreciating more the importance of Iran to stabilising global interests, in sharp contrast to the constant demonisation of the Iranian regime. For too long, the US has followed double standards which have simply not helped to promote its own interests in a meaningful way.

The US is undermining the Iranian regime on the question of its nuclear programme. Pakistan also faced a long period of sanctions in the 1990s, following suspicions that Islamabad was working to produce its first nuclear bomb.

What happened as a result of US pressure coupled with the sanctions of the 1990s on Pakistan is a telling reminder of how pressure in such situations may well just backfire.

The era of the 1990s forced Pakistan to draw itself closer to China, work even faster on its nuclear programme to conduct its first series of nuclear tests in 1998 and lead to the public's distrust of the US which continues to this day.

Popular distrust

In a nutshell, the US choice to target Iran on the nuclear question has so far neither deterred Iran from pushing ahead with its nuclear programme nor helped to change Iran's popular opinion to Washington's benefit.

Indeed, this is a vital lesson for Pakistan. Islamabad needs to press ahead with renewed vigour on consolidating its ties to Iran. This must be done in a number of ways ranging from beginning to work on a series of energy projects that are still on the drawing board, to working for a mutually beneficial economic relationship.

At the same time, Pakistan needs to move ahead more aggressively on confronting any US objection to closer ties with Iran. In the past, the case of the Pakistan-Iran plan for an ambitious gas pipeline project to transport Iranian gas to Pakistan, has been surrounded with speculation over a delay to the initiative having been caused mainly by US opposition.

The US reservations over this initiative have been based mainly on the view that such a project will likely inject billions of dollars in fresh revenue to Iran's economy.

The US must understand that its past efforts to strangulate Iran's economy have usually failed in reining in the Iranian regime. For Pakistan, the way forward must lie with choosing to even defy the US on the matter of its relations with Iran, if indeed disagreements on this score instigate a certain clash.

Pakistan's cash-starved and energy-deficient economy can simply not afford to miss out on closer ties with a neighbour which has surplus energy resources to offer. Similarly, there must also be a stronger resolve in Islamabad to use the Riggi case as a stepping stone for closer collaboration with Iran on jointly combating terrorism.

On the other hand, succumbing to US pressure will simply deprive Pakistan from an opportunity to mend fences with a neighbour whose support could be vital for its own stabilisation efforts.

 

- Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.