TEHRAN: Iran has summoned the Pakistani ambassador and demanded immediate steps to stop attacks by “terrorists and rebels” that sparked deadly clashes on the border, state media reported on Sunday.

Noor Mohammad Jadmani was called to the foreign ministry on Saturday evening following deaths in the restive border province of Sistan-Baluchestan, the official Irna news agency said.

Two Iranian border guards and a Pakistani paramilitary officer were killed in a shooting on Thursday evening, sources on the two sides said. Iran said rebels had tried to infiltrate the country.

Tehran asks Islamabad to prevent recurrence of such incidents

“It is unacceptable that terrorists and rebels attack our country from Pakistani territory and kill our border guards,” the foreign ministry’s western Asia director, Rasul Salami, told Irna.

He asked Pakistan’s government to “take serious steps to prevent any recurrence of such incidents,” the news agency said.

Thursday’s incident came after rebel attacks killed five people in Sistan-Baluchestan province earlier this month, four of them security personnel.

Iranian media said 14 people were arrested in connection with those attacks.

Last month, an Iranian soldier was killed and two pro-government militiamen were wounded in an attack authorities blamed on Jaishul Adl extremist group.

The same group captured five Iranian troops in February, four of whom were released in April. The fifth soldier is presumed dead but his fate remains officially unknown.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2014