KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan and Iran on Sunday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israel's "expansionist agenda" to bring stability to the region.

The call was made by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the visiting Iranian President Masood Pezeshkian in the capital Islamabad.

"No more words, but swift action is required to stop the killing of newborns, children and women in Gaza, where not even a single street is safe for them," Sharif told a joint news conference.

He observed that Israel was using starvation as a weapon against Palestinians, where "every hour," children, women and even newborns are dying because of the unavailability of water and food.

"The whole Islamic world and the civilized countries must stop this genocide; otherwise, history will not forgive us," Sharif said.

Sharing a similar view, Pezeshkian said that Israel has long been destabilizing the whole region by attacking Lebanon and Syria and now committing genocide in Gaza.

A regional and global consensus, including an alliance of the Islamic world, is essential to counter the "Zionist state's expansionist agenda," he added.

The Iranian leader thanked Pakistan and its people for their support during his country's 12-day war against Israel.

Sharif, in return, reiterated Pakistan's support for Iran's right to attain nuclear capability for "peaceful objectives and in accordance with the UN charter."

"Pakistan stands with Iran's principled stand in this regard," he added.

$10B trade volume

Along with a high-level delegation, including foreign and defense ministers, Pezeshkian arrived on a two-day visit to Pakistan on Saturday.

It marked his second international visit after Azerbaijan since Iran's war against Israel in mid-June.

The two neighbors also agreed to increase the volume of their bilateral trade to $10 billion.

Pezeshkian said if the two sides cooperate with each other in "all dimensions and fields," including trade and economy, the target of 10 billion dollars could be achieved "soon" from the current trade volume of $3 billion.

Noting that the terrorists operating along the border areas of the two countries are a "common threat" to both sides, he called for better border management and cooperation to counter the threat.

In return, Sharif said that Islamabad and Tehran have a common stand against terrorism, and no such activity would be allowed in Pakistan or Iran.

"We have to protect our borders and take strict steps against terrorism to open the roads to peace and development in the region," said Sharif.

The premier also thanked Iran for its "consistent" support to Islamabad on the Kashmir issue.

The two sides inked a string of memoranda of understanding in the fields of information technology, law and justice, climate change, and tourism.

Later, Pezeshkian met with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Zardari at the President's House to discuss bilateral relations and cooperation, a statement from Zardari's office said.

The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to further broaden bilateral cooperation in diverse fields, emphasizing the importance of enhancing bilateral ties in wide-ranging and mutually beneficial areas.