Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Aminzadeh has urged Pakistan to ensure the safety of Iranians there.

Iranian television said Mr Aminzadeh made the comments at a meeting with Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmad Khan.

Several Iranians were killed in Pakistan last year; correspondents say they were targetted by militant Sunni Muslims because they were Shiites.

Mr Ahmad Khan has said he hopes his visit to Iran will smoothe out what he called any misgivings or misunderstandings.

Islamabad and Tehran support opposing sides in the Afghan conflict, a difference that came to a head last August, when Taleban guerillas overrunning the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif killed nine Iranian diplomats.