TEHRAN The Pakistani newspaper ****Dawn**** wrote on Sunday that Iran has refused to grant permission to Pakistani trucks to transit through Iran to Central Asian countries.

The Indian newspaper **** The Statesman **** also wrote on Monday that the rejection of Islamabad's request by Iran would cause bilateral ties between the two countries to deteriorate.

The TEHRAN TIMES made several calls to the Public Relations Office of the State Transportation and Terminals Organization in order to follow up the story, but unfortunately they refused to make any comments.

The Public Relations Office of the State Transportation and Terminals Organization (STTO), affiliated to the Ministry of Roads and Transport, only told the TEHRAN TIMES that it is an important issue between the two countries and they did wish to reply to any questions.

****Dawn*****, quoting official media service in Pakistan, added that Islamabad proposed this request at the joint economic meeting of the trade ministers of the two countries last week.

"Iranian officials, in response to this request of Pakistan, announced that the Pakistani trucks are permitted to travel back and forth within Iran, but to transit cargoes to the central Asian countries they must use Iranian trucks," ***Dawn*** added.

This newspaper also said that Pakistan's request to ship fruit to central Asian countries had earlier been accepted by Iran.

During this joint economic meeting, Pakistan also complained about the missing link on the Zahedan-Kerman railroad route.

****The Statesman**** newspaper said that the two countries have not reached an agreement on the proposed gas pipeline from Iran to India and that this could be one of the main reasons for the deterioration of relations between the two countries.

The attitude adopted by the officials of the ministry of road and transport is a regrettable example of officials disregarding their duties.