Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul container train to resume operations in Jan: FO

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office said Thursday that the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul (ITI) container train would resume regular freight operation in January 2021 to boost economic cooperation among the three countries and beyond.

Speaking at his weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, said the decision was taken in the 11th high-level working group meeting of the relevant authorities of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)’s member states, held virtually on ITI container train.

During the meeting, he added that it was decided that the ITI container train would resume regular freight operation in January 2021.

He said Pakistan Railways’ Freight Transportation Company (PRFTC) had been nominated as the focal company of coordination on issues related to the ITI container train operation.

He said the other countries including Turkey and Iran had also appointed their concerned departments as their respective focal companies.

Sources in the Ministry of Railways said the ITI container train operation would not only boost economic and trade cooperation between the three countries, but also among the ECO member states and beyond.

They said the total length of the ITI project was around 6,500 km, which covered 1,990 km in Pakistan, 2,600 km in Iran, and 1,950 km in Turkey.

Responding to a question about massive Indian arms buildup, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said Indian military buildup under the BJP regime was a threat to regional peace. However, he stated in categorical terms that Pakistan’s armed forces were fully ready to deal with any misadventure by the Indian side.

When asked whether Pakistan was under pressure from the Arab states to recognise Israel, the spokesperson denied any pressure on Pakistan over the recognition of Israel. He said recognition of Israel was not under consideration and all speculations in that regard were baseless.

He said for Pakistan recognition of Israel was impossible without the resolution of Palestine issue.

In his statement after his recent visit to the UAE, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi stated that he had conveyed to the Emirati side that Pakistan cannot recognise Israel unless the resolution of the issue of Palestine.

“The exchange of views does not mean that Pakistan is under any sort of pressure on the matter [recognition of Israel],” the spokesperson further asserted.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020