As announced by President Shehbaz Sharif earlier, a day of mourning is being observed as a show of solidarity. The death of the President Ebrahim Raisi in the helicopter crash was deemed tragic and sorrowful. President Zardari has also personally offered his condolences by labelling this as a “major loss” for the Muslim Ummah. There were a total of 7 victims in the helicopter crash including the foreign minister and other members of the government. Furthermore, the National flag will fly at half-mast throughout the country today.
Additionally the federal cabinet has passed a condolence resolution for these martyrs. This meeting was chaired by PM Shehbaz Sharif. He acknowledged particular efforts of the late President and his approach towards healthy Pakistan-Iran Bilateral relations. Furthering on this the premier mentioned that the entire nation of Pakistan is deeply saddened with this unforturante event. ” We stand by the people of Iran in this hour of difficulty”. He labelled President Raisi as a “sincere friend” of Pakistan and therefore his decision to pay tribute with a day of mourning nationwide. Referring to future relations, he assured to carry forward the vision of Raisi and maintain the strong ties between nations.
Future Pak-Iran relations
Expanding on the PM’s hopes of maintaining robust relations, we can dissect Raisi’s approach of managing foreign affairs. Raisi instrumentally pushed forward economic relations for example the vital gas pipelne flagship project. He prioritised the maintenance and continuity of these ties vigilantly. Geopolitically, Raisi managed to sustain these relations dealing with intricacies particularly with reference to Afghanistan. Dodging more regional frictions for example relations with Saudi Arabia, leaders from both nations upheld close relations extracting shared benefits. With the death of Ebrahim Raisi the attention and nature of these relations hangs in the balance. Although PM Shehbaz has reassured that Pakistan will continue to cultivate these relations. The results are dependent on the approach that the new leadership of Iran adopts.
