ISLAMABAD: A former German diplomat has suggested that Pakistan engage with the Iranian clergy to promote a future bilateral relationship between the two countries.

Pakistan should `whet the appetite of the (Iranian) religious establishment and tell them that opening up and having good ties in oil and gas will be good for both, said Ambassador Gunter Mulack.

An expert on Middle Eastern politics who was previously posted as German envoy to Islamabad, Ambassador Mulack currently heads the Berlin-based Orient Institute.

Speaking at a lecture titled `Contemporary Relations Between Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia`, he said the debate on Pakistan-Iran ties in thepost-sanctions period had intensified af ter Iranian President Hassan Rouhani`s visit to Islamabad, where he tried to push energy cooperation and trade ties. Though the initiative is yet to bear fruit, it has renewed focus on old irritants in the relationship, including Iran`s close ties with India.

Mr Mulack was of the view that reaching out to the Iranian clergy, parallel to contacts with the Rouhani administration, could help win over part of the influential religious establishment. He foresaw no major change in Iran`s governmental structuresin the nearfuture and believed that the influence of the clergy would remain important in shaping policies there.

He said Iran was opening up in order to achieve economic stability and improve the living standards of its people. `Trying to help Iran... is the right way for Pakistan,` he added.

He listed a number of reasons why Pakistan and other countries should engage with Iran: an old civilization with a rich culture and history, high literacy, industrial base, and important geo-political position and rich in energy resources.

`We cannot exclude Iran from playing arole in the region,` Mr Mulack noted, adding that Tehran was on a different plane than Saudi Arabia, which was heavily reliant on its oil wealth. Moreover, he warned that Riyadh was faced with the growing demands of a young population aspiring to live in a liberal and modern society, as well as a serious terrorist problem in the shape of the self-styled Islamic State (IS).

The German expert said that Saudi Arabia was worried because the US, which long-assured the kingdom`s security, was turning away from it and towards Asia, where it could develop more business and better ties.

`Saudi Arabia is feeling scared left alone... and is looking around for friends on whom it can rely,` he said. The kingdom believes that if things go really bad, it can count on Pakistan and sees the Pakistani military as a sort of last resort, he said.

Former defence secretary retired Lt-Gen Asif Yasin Malik took a more cautious approach, saying that neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia were Pakistan`s friends, in the true sense. `Their leaders could have been the friends of our rulers` but that both countries had caused `unforgiveable` harm to Pakistan.

Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad(ISSI) Chairman and former ambassador Khalid Mehmood pointed out impediments in developing relations with Iran, which, he said, included the sectarian signatures on Iran`s policies, border security issues, and Tehran`s close relationship with India.

He believed that the reprieve Iran has received thanks to the lifting of nuclearrelated sanctions would be `brief` because of its aggressive policy in the Middle East.

Academic Dr Zafar Iqbal Cheema pointedoutthatthefactthatPakistanis a Sunni-majority state with the second-largest Shiite population in the world after Iran, could not be overlooked. Besides, Pakistan shares historical, cultural and ideological affinity with both countries, but shares a geographic proximity with Iran that is not interchangeable, he further said.

`Islamabad should avoid over committingitselfespecially not at the expense of its own national security interests,` he said.

Dr Cheema suggested that Pakistan should avoid being tagged, either internationally or by these two states, based on its demographic and sectarian orientations.