Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi arrived in Tehran on Monday on his second stop in his four-nation visit to Afghanistan, Iran, China and Russia.
Earlier, Qureshi met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani in Kabul.
He is expected to brief Iranian officials on the outcome of the Abu Dhabi dialogue and how Afghanistan's neighbors can help in its peace process. He is also set to meet with his counterpart Mohammed Javad Zarif.
The Pakistani government officially insists that the process be held between Afghan parties, while the Taliban rejects any dialogue with the current government.
The Taliban considers that dialogue should take place between the US administration and Taliban representatives since the current Afghan government does not take decisions without resorting to Washington.
Qureshi’s visit to Tehran comes amid tension between the two neighbors after the killing of six Pakistani border guards who were on a routine patrol on the border with Iran.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry had summoned Iran's ambassador in Islamabad to protest against the attack.
It demanded that Tehran take action against the armed group responsible for the attack in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan received two invitations to visit Tehran after taking office in August, but he has refused to do so at this time.
Instead, he sent his foreign minister to visit the Balochistan province, where serious violent attacks have taken place in recent years.
“Iran is currently working on several axes to harm Pakistan and prevent it from taking advantage of the China-Pakistan trade corridor and developing the Pakistani port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea," said a member of the Pakistani Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, who asked not to be named.
“Iran gave India the right to develop Chabahar Port, allowing Pakistan to compete with Gwadar and the Chinese-Pakistani trade corridor,” he added.
The official further noted that Iran gave India this investment and shared with it intelligence plans against Pakistan to support separatist groups in Balochistan.
