Daily Times

• All three parties agree to formalize trilateral consultations on counter-terrorism and security.
• Pakistan claims to have seen a statement from Iran’s Admiral Shahram regarding the formation of a naval alliance.
• “When it comes to Pakistan,” the Foreign Office said, “we will examine any proposal.”ISLAMABAD: For the first time, China, Pakistan, and Iran have committed to work together to discover ways and means to address the region’s terrorism threat, according to The News.

  In this regard, the Foreign Office reported on Thursday that the first Pakistan-China-Iran Trilateral Consultation Meeting on Counter-Terrorism and Security was held on Wednesday in Beijing at the director general level.

  Abdul Hameed, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Counter-Terrorism), led the Pakistan mission.

  “The delegations had in-depth discussions about the regional security situation, particularly the threat of terrorism that the region faces.” The three sides have decided to institutionalize the trilateral meetings on counter-terrorism and security based on the conclusion of these consultations,” the Foreign Office stated during her weekly media conference.

  “Further details will be worked out in due course,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said.

For China, which is behind the CPEC projects in the region, this trilateral cooperation would go a long way to ensure that security threats are addressed for these projects to be completed.

China has also sensed that the continuing border incidents on the Pak-Iran border, where non-state actors carry out terrorist attacks inside both countries, should be contained.

Meanwhile, as Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik visited the United States to discuss the future of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, the FO spokesperson struck a cautious tone.

“As we have said in the past, for Pakistan the IP project is an important project and we remain committed to it. There are certain complications with regard to its implementation.”

“In that context, we remain engaged with both Iran and the United States. Exact details of the meetings that the Minister of State for Petroleum held in the United States may be ascertained from the concerned ministry,” she said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan said that it has seen the statement from Iranian Naval Chief Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, who had proposed an Ocean Naval Alliance including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, India and Pakistan.

“We will examine any proposal when it comes to Pakistan. At this stage, we are not in a position to comment on a statement which has been made,” said the spokesperson.