Iran slams Pakistan over border guards abduction

Published February 9, 2014
-File Photo
-File Photo

TEHRAN: Iran on Sunday denounced what it called Pakistan's inability to secure its own borders after five Iranian soldiers were kidnapped and taken into its eastern neighbour by extremists.

“We are unhappy with the Pakistani government over the abduction of our guards and their transfer to Pakistan,” Fars news agency reported quoted police chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moghadam as saying.

Jaish-ul Adl, the rebel group formed in 2012 whose name in Arabic means Army of Justice, has said it was behind the kidnapping in Iran's restive southeast province of Sistan-Baluchestan.

The group posted pictures on its Facebook page it said were of the soldiers, handcuffed and being held in an unknown location.

The foreign ministry in Tehran summoned Pakistan's charge d'affaires, demanding that Islamabad “act firmly against the leaders and members of the terrorist group who have fled into Pakistan”, media reports said.

Home to a large Sunni minority and ethnic Baluch in a predominantly Shiite country, Sistan-Baluchestan province has been the scene of unrest in recent years.

Jaish-ul Adl said in November it assassinated a local prosecutor, and in October it ambushed Iranian border guards, killing 14.

In response, Iranian authorities executed 16 “rebels” eight Sunni insurgents and eight drug traffickers.

Another Sunni militant group Jundallah (Soldiers of God), whose leader Abdolmalek Rigi was hanged in June 2010, has also attacked civilians and officials in Sistan-Baluchestan.

Opinion

Editorial

Window dressing
Updated 17 Jun, 2025

Window dressing

Meanwhile, the provinces lack the resources and expertise to implement adaptation measures effectively.
No revenue effort
17 Jun, 2025

No revenue effort

WITH the ruling PML-N’s next budget unfolding large infrastructure schemes, and expenditure focusing on service...
Pomp and circumstance
17 Jun, 2025

Pomp and circumstance

THE sight of columns of tanks rolling down a boulevard, accompanied by troops goose-stepping in lockstep, was a...
Close the gap
Updated 16 Jun, 2025

Close the gap

Our imbalanced scorecard in the main shows that power development and prosperity reflect the shallowness of political claims.
Fiscal malfeasance
16 Jun, 2025

Fiscal malfeasance

IT is galling that, even in these times of economic distress, when hardship has pushed millions of ordinary...
Rochdale conviction
16 Jun, 2025

Rochdale conviction

THE recent conviction of seven men in the Rochdale grooming gang case is a hard-won moment of justice. The men, ...