IRNA - A Pakistani news daily has urged the government in the country to try to develop stronger relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

�Pakistan Today� in its recent editorial comments said that Iran and Pakistan not only share religious, cultural and historical bonds but they also share a 999-km-long border between them which is in their interest to keep peaceful.

It said that Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was the first major dignitary to visit Pakistan to meet the new prime minister.

The paper said Iran provides electricity to nearby districts in Balochistan which are currently out of the reach of the national power grid.

�There is a need on the part of Prime Minister Imran Khan to visit Iran and Qatar at the earliest.� it said.

Pakistan Today also wrote that keeping in view the divisions in the Persian Gulf there is a need on the part of the government to conduct diplomacy in the region with extra care.

The editorial went on to say that if Pakistan cannot play the role of an honest broker in the Persian Gulf, it should at least be seen as non-partisan.

What the new Pakistani government needs to understand is that Pakistan has to pursue a policy of friendship with all states instead of getting embroiled in their regional disputes, it added.

�While Pakistan has got the much needed financial support from Saudi Arabia and [the United Arab Emirates] UAE, its trade with Qatar is also on a growth trajectory particularly after Qatar�s blockade. In the fiscal year 2017-18, Pakistan�s exports to the country jumped 75 percent. Pakistan is also hoping to get investments from Qatar,� it said.