TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki has raised alarm over the deteriorating security situation in northwest Pakistan, saying Iran considers Pakistan’s security its own.

“A stable and powerful Pakistan is a great asset for the Islamic world,” Mottaki said in a meeting with Shahbaz Shari, Punjab chief minister, who arrived in Tehran for trade talks with Iranian officials.
Mottaki also said if violent actions in Pakistan and Afghanistan are not brought under control it will spread to other regions.
Iran’s top diplomat also said insurgencies are not just aimed at Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The two sides also called for close economic and commercial ties between the two neighbors.
Shahbaz Shari, who is a younger brother of Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif, has emerged as an able administrator in Punjab, Pakistan’s biggest province