Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in a meeting with visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari voiced deep regret over the recent massacres in neighboring Pakistan, and urged Islamabad to take decisive action in response to put an end to such moves, warning that division among Muslims has long been a Zionist goal.
“Creating discord and division in the Muslim Ummah is one of the obvious and planned objectives of the Zionists and other arrogant [powers],” Ayatollah Khamenei told the visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday.
Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the opposition and hostilities towards the development of relations between Iran and Pakistan, saying both sides must decisively move past such oppositions.
“We firmly believe that economic, infrastructural, political, social and security bonds between the two countries should be strengthened,” the Leader added.
The Leader also voiced Iran’s readiness to supply energy to Pakistan.
“In this region, the Islamic Republic is the only country with a secure source of energy and we are ready to meet Pakistan’s need in this regard,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.
The Leader described the under-construction Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline as a good example of cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad.
Ayatollah Khamenei said “sectarian strife” in Pakistan is a “dangerous foreign microbe,” adding, “Sectarian killings in Pakistan are really regretful and this issue should be decisively dealt with to prevent it from disturbing Pakistan’s national unity.”
The Supreme Leader cautioned that large parts of problems in the Muslim community have been sown and stirred by enemies of Islam, and said reviving and activating the human, natural and geographical capabilities and abilities of the Muslim world will extend a major help to the settlement of these problems.
For his part, Zardari said, “We firmly believe in the expansion of bilateral relations.”
“The efforts made by international and regional players to prevent strength in Iran-Pakistan relations have failed because nations have learnt how to act in the face of enemies of Islam,” said the Pakistani president.