Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - International Service: Reuters reported on Friday night, January 19, that Pakistan's Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister, confirmed the progress of the country's affairs, taking the necessary measures to fully restore diplomatic relations with Iran.

 

Before the cabinet meeting, Jalil Abbas Jilani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, also said that Islamabad does not want to escalate tensions with Iran.

 

Hours before that, the spokesperson of Pakistan's Foreign Ministry had referred to Iran as a "friendly country" and emphasized the need for de-escalation between the two sides.

 

"Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar", the Prime Minister of Pakistan, yesterday held a meeting with the heads of the military services of this country in line with the "extensive security reviews after the incidents between Iran and Pakistan".

 

An hour earlier, AFP reported, quoting a security official, that the chief of the joint staff of the Pakistani army and the head of the country's intelligence agencies were among the people present in this meeting.

 

After Iran's missile attack on Pakistan, Kakar left his trip to the "World Economic Forum" meeting in "Davos" in the Netherlands and returned to his country.

 

The tension in the relations between the two countries started after Iran's attack on the two important headquarters of the Jaish al-Zalm terrorist group on the evening of Tuesday.

 

In response to that attack, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on Thursday morning that it had carried out a series of "precise and well-targeted military strikes" against terrorist hideouts in Iran's Sistan and Baluchistan province. This action was met with Iran's reaction and brought Pakistan's Chargé d'affaires in Tehran to Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

After Iran's missile attack on Wednesday, Pakistan recalled its ambassador to Iran and suspended all bilateral interactions with Tehran.

 

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan stated in a statement after the cabinet meeting: "Pakistan and Iran agree on reducing tensions and respecting each other's sovereignty over their territories."