ISLAMABAD, July 6: Iran’s foreign ministry on Saturday expressed concern over what he termed the reactivation of terrorist groups in Pakistan.

Foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi was quoted as saying in a press statement issued by the Iranian embassy here on Sunday.

It said that Mr Asefi, while commenting on the Quetta killings, had told the Iranian news agency IRNA that his country was “strongly worried” about the fact that terrorist groups had been reactivated in Pakistan.

Mr Asefi said that Tehran expected Pakistan’s government to take effective measures to punish the perpetrators of the incident and stop occurrence of similar acts in the future, which served the interests of the enemies of Islam.

Urging the people of Pakistani to exercise prudence, he said that they should realize the intent of those who engineered incidents like the Quetta attack.

“Pakistani Islamic groups and Muslim communities must refrain from getting involved in new plots ... meant to create insecurity at religious sites ... and disturb the atmosphere of understanding and religious tolerance,” he said.