Pak PM Shehbaz & Iran President Rasisi inaugurate border marketplace and electricity line

She added that it would unleash development, trade, business, and employment opportunities in Gwadar and the Balochistan region.Pakistan and Iran also agreed to accelerate work on the Free Trade Agreement FTA between the two countries and finalise it at the earliest, Shehbaz said while talking to tribesmen in Gwadar.He said a constructive, positive and fruitful meeting was held with President Raisi.Separately, speaking at a weekly briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch called the Iran-Pakistan pipeline project important and asserted Pakistans commitment to it.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday jointly inaugurated a border market and an electricity transmission line to promote trade and economic cooperation between the two neighbouring countries.

Islamabad and Tehran have been working on the Mand-Pishin border sustenance market and the Polan-Gabd electricity transmission line for quite some time now. According to Prime Minister Shehbaz, a total of six border markets would be set up to enhance trade and contribute to the development of the two nations.

He also said that the Polan-Gabd electricity transmission line would carry 100 megawatts of electricity daily from Iran to the Pakistani port city of Gwadar once fully functional.

According to Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, the project had been pending since 2009 and was completed in a record time of four months. She added that it would unleash development, trade, business, and employment opportunities in Gwadar and the Balochistan region.

Pakistan and Iran also agreed to accelerate work on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries and finalise it at the earliest, Shehbaz said while talking to tribesmen in Gwadar.

He said a "constructive, positive and fruitful meeting" was held with President Raisi.

Separately, speaking at a weekly briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch called the Iran-Pakistan pipeline project important and asserted Pakistan's commitment to it. Talking about the delay, she said that there are some issues regarding the project's completion, for which both countries are engaged in talks.

"We will continue to discuss with Iran all aspects of the completion of the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline," she said.