TEHRAN - Pakistan’s official news agency has announced that the government in Islamabad is mulling over plans to launch a shipping line with Iran to make it easy for Pakistanis going on pilgrimage trips to the southwestern neighbor.

The news agency made the announcement on Sunday, citing Minister of Maritime Affairs Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh who said that the Pakistani government is assessing plans to launch shipping lines with both Iran and Oman.

The minister said that the shipping line with Iran is part of efforts to facilitate trips by Pakistani pilgrims to the country. No further details were reported.

Pakistan first came up with the plan in 2014 when the then government decided to set up a shipping line with Iranian ports of Chabahar and Bandar Abbas in an effort to ease trips by Pakistani pilgrims and address the security challenges faced by them.

Almost 120,000 Pakistani passengers, including pilgrims, visit Iran each year through Mirjaveh and Rimdan border crossings.

EF/