Pakistan wants Iran to punish killers of its security personnel

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office Thursday summoned the Iranian ambassador in Pakistan to express grave concern over a terrorist attack from inside the Iranian territory in the Panjgur district of Balochistan, martyring four security personnel.

According to official sources, the ambassador was conveyed Pakistan’s expectation that the Government of Iran would swiftly bring perpetrators of the terrorist attack to justice and prevent recurrence of such incidents.

“Pakistan remains committed to working with Iran in combating the common threat posed by the menace of terrorism,” said the Foreign Office.

In a related development, the Iranian Embassy in Islamabad condemned the terror attack. In a statement, the embassy said terrorism was a common problem facing Iran and Pakistan, with both neighbouring countries being a victim of that “evil phenomenon.” It also sympathised with the families of victims.

Meanwhile, in the weekly press conference, Foreign Office Spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, “Pakistan strongly condemns the terrorist attack from across the Iranian border. “The terrorists used the territory of Iran [to conduct the attack]. We hope Iran will take action against the responsible factors,” Baloch said.

This is not the first time that Pakistanis have been taken out by terrorists from inside Iran even though there is patrolling and fencing of the Pak-Iran border

“We call upon the Iranian authorities to ensure a thorough investigation into the matter and hold the perpetrators accountable. Pakistan denounces terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We have strongly committed that our territory will not be used for cross-border attacks in Iran and expect the same from Iran,” she pointed out.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), militants “targeted a convoy of security forces patrolling along the border.” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the incident, saying “the nation pays homage to the sacrifices of their martyred soldiers in line of duty”. President Arif Alvi and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari denounced the attack as well.

Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb expressed her deep grief over the deaths of four security forces personnel. In a statement, she said terrorists intend to harm the relations between Pakistan and Iran. However, “our morale is high and our security forces are determined to defeat the terrorists.”