By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Unidentified gunmen killed nine Pakistani nationals and wounded three others in southeastern Iran on Saturday, in a brutal attack that drew condemnation from both countries and raised fears of further violence along their volatile border.
The victims were Pakistani laborers who lived and worked at an auto repair shop in the city of Saravan, in the restive Sistan-Baluchistan province, according to the Baloch rights group Haalvash. No group or individual claimed responsibility for the shootings, which occurred around 9 a.m. local time, Inran’s the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
The incident came amid efforts by Iran and Pakistan to mend ties after a series of tit-for-tat attacks by militants on both sides of the border in recent weeks. Last week, the two countries exchanged missile strikes aimed at what each said were terrorist targets, prompting both to recall their ambassadors for consultations.
On Saturday, the Pakistani Foreign Office said it was in touch with Iranian authorities over the “horrifying and despicable” killing of its nationals and urged them to investigate the incident and hold the perpetrators accountable.
“It is a horrifying and despicable incident and we condemn it unequivocally,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement. “Such cowardly attacks cannot deter Pakistan from its determination to fight terrorism.”
She said Pakistan’s consul in Zahedan, the provincial capital, was on his way to the hospital where the injured were being treated and would also meet local authorities to press for action against the attackers.
“We are fully seized of this grave matter and are taking all necessary measures in this regard,” she Baloch. “The embassy will do its best to repatriate dead bodies at the earliest.”
Interim Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani called the incident an “attempt to spoil relations between Pakistan and Iran by our common enemies” and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.
Earlier, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, said he was “deeply shocked” by the killings and vowed to extend full support to the bereaved families. He also called upon Iran to extend full cooperation in the matter.
The shootings occurred as Iranian state media said the Pakistani and Iranian ambassadors had returned to their postings after being recalled. The two envoys assumed their offices in their respective capitals on Saturday, according to the official IRNA news agency.
Iran and Pakistan share a 959-kilometer (596-mile) border that has long been plagued by insecurity and smuggling. The province of Sistan-Baluchistan, home to a large ethnic Baloch population, has witnessed frequent attacks by Sunni militants, including Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), a group that seeks greater rights and autonomy for the Baloch people, against Iranian security forces and civilians.
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