The Iranian foreign minister has invoked a 13th-century poem to mediate between India and Pakistan as both countries see strained ties after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 Indian tourists.
As the ties between India and Pakistan plummet to a new low in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 26 tourists, Iran has offered mediation between New Delhi and Islamabad. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has invoked a centuries-old Persian poem to help normalise the situation between the two South Asian neighbours.
Following the terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, India and Pakistan have taken diplomatic measures and countermeasures. India decided to hold the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, asked all Pakistani nationals to head back to their country, and designated the military advisors in the Pakistani Embassy in New Delhi as persona non grata.
Pakistan countered by closing its airspace for all Indian airlines, blocking the Wagah border, suspending all trade with India and revisiting the Simla agreement.
Iran’s Foreign Minister, in a post on X, has said, “India and Pakistan are brotherly neighbours of Iran, enjoying relations rooted in centuries-old cultural and civilisational ties. Like other neighbours, we consider them our foremost priority. Tehran stands ready to use its good offices in Islamabad and New Delhi to forge greater understanding at this difficult time.”
His post also has a mention of a 13th-century poem composed by legendary Persian poet Saadi Shirazi, which goes like this: “Human Beings are members of a whole, in creation of one essence and soul. If one member is inflicted with pain, other members uneasy will remain.”
