TEHRAN, May 26 (MNA) – Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff has said that the late President Ebrahim Raeisi and his foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were true friends of Pakistan, stressing Islamabad's continued support for Iran.

Lieutenant General Syed Asim Munir made the comments in a phone conversation with the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri on Sunday.

The Pakistani general extended his condolences to the Iranian nation over the martyrdom of President Ebrahim Raeisi, stressing that the armed forces of Pakistan and Iran will always stand by each other.

Gen. Munir said that late President Raisi and his top diplomat, Amirabdollhian, were exceptional statesmen and true friends of Pakistan, a statement by the Pakistani Army's public relations office.

"Pakistan has historical, cultural and fraternal relations with Iran, and the armed forces of Pakistan and Iran will always stand by each other," he stated.

The statement said that General Bagheri expressed his commitment to the continued expansion of military cooperation between Iran and Pakistan.

The phone call followed a visit to Tehran by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday to extend his condolences to the Iran. He had declared Tuesday a day of mourning in Pakistan over the martyrdom of Iran's president.

MNA