Iranian Interior Minister Abdolvahed Musavi-Lari called on Pakistan Tuesday to do more to prevent fugitive al-Qaeda fighters from entering Iran, state radio said.
"Musavi-Lari demanded that Pakistan cooperate more to prevent al-Qaeda members from entering Iranian territory" during talks with his visiting Pakistani counterpart Moinuddin Haider, the radio said, cited by AFP.
The Iranian interior minister added that the neighbors had set up a committee to deal with "problems at the border".
On his part, Haider insisted that Pakistan was doing all within its power to stop fugitive fighters crossing the border, the radio said. "We do all we can to prevent members of al-Qaeda and other wrongdoers from entering Iran's territory," it quoted the Pakistani minister as saying.
The discussions between the two ministers came as US media reports that Tehran was sheltering al-Qaeda leaders prompted Washington to issue a warning to the Islamic regime.
"We would call on and urge the Iranian government not to offer any terrorists a safe haven," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said last week.
Besides the issue of Al-Qaeda, the Iranian and Pakistani ministers also exchanged views on how to combat drug trafficking, banditry and ethnic unrest on their common border, state radio said.
Later Tuesday, Haider, who began his five-day visit in Tehran Monday, was set to meet President Mohammad Khatami. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
