Pakistan Backs Iran's Right To Possess Ballistic Missiles During Pezeshkian Visit

By Shakir Husain

HYDERABAD, June 24 (Bernama) -- Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday firmly defended Iran's right to possess ballistic missiles, saying Tehran's missile programme was never part of the United States (US)-Iran peace understanding brokered by Islamabad.

He argued that Iran should not be subjected to double standards regarding its missile capabilities.

Speaking during talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and his high-level delegation in Islamabad, Shehbaz said the issue of Iranian ballistic missiles was never part of the discussions that led to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) reached between Iran and the US on June 17.

“There cannot be double standards that some countries can have ballistic missiles and Iran should not have.

“This MoU does not mention (anything) about ballistic missiles.

“It was never on the table, it was never on the agenda,” the Pakistan prime minister said, adding that the Iranian side "never wanted to even discuss" the topic of missiles.

Shehbaz's defence of Iran's missile programme comes as Tehran views its missile capabilities as essential to its national security following the attacks launched by Israel and the US on Feb 28.

Before helping broker the US-Iran understanding this month, Pakistan had also facilitated a temporary ceasefire between the two sides in April.

Shehbaz said he was grateful to Iran for the trust it had placed in Pakistan's mediation efforts, in which Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, played active roles.

“I am very grateful to you and the Iranian leadership for placing abiding trust in Pakistan's ability to mediate with honesty and sincerity,” he said.

“I want to assure you that, as brothers, we will never let you down,” Shehbaz told the Iranian president, according to remarks posted on the prime minister's Facebook page.

However, the Pakistan prime minister mentioned that there were attempts to prevent the US and Iran from reaching an agreement.

“There are spoilers all over the world who want to scuttle this peace deal,” he said.

Israel has emerged as the biggest obstacle to peace in West Asia, with its constant attacks causing death and destruction in Lebanon and occupied Palestine.

US President Donald Trump recently conceded that Iran could have ballistic missiles.

“I am saying that if other countries have them, ‌it is a little bit unfair for them not to have some,” Trump told reporters in Paris on June 17.

At a joint news conference with Shehbaz, Pezeshkian made it clear that Iran's defensive capabilities were non-negotiable.

“If the missiles we have for our defence did not exist, Israel and America would have ploughed through Iran just like Gaza, showing no mercy to either the old or the young,” Pezeshkian said.

Pakistan accorded the Iranian president a grand welcome, with Pezeshkian's plane escorted by six Pakistani Air Force fighter jets as he arrived in Islamabad, where he was received by Shehbaz and President Asif Ali Zardari and honoured with a 21-gun salute.

-- BERNAMA