On Saturday, nine Pakistani laborers were slain by unknown gunmen in the volatile southern border region of Iran, according to reports from the news agency Reuters and Islamabad’s envoy in Iran, even as attempts are ongoing to restore relations between Iran and Pakistan following tit-for-tat strikes.
The ambassador of Pak to Tehran, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, stated on the X that “we called upon Iran to extend full cooperation in the matter.”
“It is a horrifying and despicable incident and we condemn it unequivocally”, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, adding, “We are in touch with Iranian authorities and have underscored the need to immediately investigate the incident and hold to account those involved.”
Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, denounced the shootings and said that the two nations’ fraternal relations will not be harmed by rivals.
Who were the workers?
Nine Pakistani workers were slain by unidentified gunmen on January 27, Saturday, in a volatile border region in southeast Iran, according to the Iranian state media and Pakistan’s envoy.
According to the Baluch rights organization Haalvash, the victims were workers from Pakistan who resided at the car repair business where they were employed. It reported there were three more injured. No one or any organization has taken credit for the shootings in Saravan, Sistan-Baluchestan province, according to state media.
How did Iran respond?
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemned the recent shootings in Pakistan, stating that Iran and Pakistan will not allow enemies to damage their brotherly ties.
State media reported that Pakistani and Iranian ambassadors were returning to their postings after being recalled following missile strikes aimed at militant targets. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi emphasized the importance of protecting the Iran-Pakistan border for economic exchanges and protecting against insecurity. The impoverished Sistan-Baluchestan region has been the scene of sporadic clashes between security forces and separatist militants and smugglers carrying opium from Afghanistan.
After tit-for-tat assaults, what are the next steps for Pakistan and Iran’s “low-trust” ties?
Despite tit-for-tat military assaults on each other’s land this week, Pakistan and Iran have agreed to defuse tensions. However, observers believe that the incident highlights a lack of trust between the neighbors that will impede ties long after the missiles and allegations have stopped.
Jalil Abbas Jilani, Pakistan’s foreign minister, spoke with Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the foreign minister of Iran, on Friday night. The two foreign ministers concurred that there should be more working-level coordination and collaboration on counterterrorism and other issues of shared interest. According to a statement from Pakistan’s foreign ministry, they also decided to defuse the situation.
Iran had launched drone and missile attacks into Pakistan’s Balochistan province, resulting in three injuries and the death of at least two children. Tehran asserted that Jaish al-Adl, an armed Sunni Muslim organization suspected of carrying out assaults within the Iranian-held Sistan-Baluchestan area, was the target of the unusual border incursion. However, Pakistan retaliated in less than 48 hours with “precise” military attacks that claimed the lives of nine civilians, three women and four children among them. State authorities were quoted in Iranian media sources as saying that the deceased were “non-Iranians,” suggesting that they could have been citizens of Pakistan.
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