ISLAMABAD: The Iranian government has finally responded to a letter written by the interior ministry seeking investigation into Indian intelligence agency RAW’s network in Iran.

According to sources, the response was handed over to Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan by Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Hunerdoost who called on him here on Wednesday.

According to an official statement, progress in expansion of cooperation in a number of areas, including security, was reviewed during the meeting which also took stock of the situation prevailing in the region.

The contents of the Iranian response were not shared with the media.

Chaudhry Nisar made it clear that no third country could influence relations between Pakistan and Iran.

He stressed the need for strengthening monitoring of the border between the two countries and timely exchange of information.

The disclosure about the arrest of an Indian spy, Kulbushan Jadhav, was made a day before the Iranian president’s visit to Pakistan in March.

By the end of the month, a letter signed by Interior Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan was written to the Iranian ambassador for transmission to his government.

The letter asked the Iranian government to investigate and share details of Jadhav’s activities in Iran, along with those of a colleague of his, identified as Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) Sub Inspector Rakesh alias Rizwan.

It asked Iran to immediately arrest and hand over Rakesh for interrogation, verify activities of Jadhav, and share the record of his visits to Iran and stay in the country, including cities visited and the duration of the visits, provide the record of people he interacted with and the purpose of these interactions and share details of RAW networks on Iranian soil.

“Pakistan expects Iran to seriously look at Islamabad’s assertions and take every step to stem incursion of Indian spies into Pakistani territory,” the letter said.

“Jadhav was covertly based in Chabahar, Iran, under the pretext of being a jeweller/businessman. He was assisted by RAW Sub Inspector Rakesh, alias Rizwan, a key operative who was also working undercover as a businessman dealing in jewellery. Jadhav had an Iranian visa along with an Indian passport and he had crossed over to Balochistan’s Mashkhel area from Saravan, Iran.”

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2016