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| Axis of Evil |
| Iran, Pakistan seek new era in ties after Taliban |
| 2002-12-21 |
| President Mohammad Khatami heads to Pakistan Monday, with Tehran and Islamabad hoping to kick off a new era in ties following the collapse of Afghanistan's Taliban militia. "There is no doubt that there was a divergence between the two countries, notably over the Taliban, but the events of September 11, 2001 have changed the situation everywhere in the world," Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri said. The two countries are now technically on the same side in Afghanistan, officially supporting the government of President Hamid Karzai. Oooh. Strange bedfellows... Iran, however, remains concerned about the growth of Sunni Muslim "I thought we had a patent on lunacy. Can we sue the Paks for infringing it?" Iran is also tipped as a possible mediator between Pakistan and India, especially over the Kashmir issue on which Iran has never played the Muslim solidarity card. Khatami is also due to visit New Delhi on January 26. This is the coherent half of the Iranian government, conducting relations just like they were a normal nation. Any agreements reached can be arbitrarily reversed by the other half of the gummint without warning. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |