ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday conveyed its concerns to Iran over warnings by the latter’s army chief that it could carry out operations inside Pakistani territory.

Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Mehdi Honardoost was called to the Foreign Office to convey Pakistan’s concerns over the reported remarks of the Iranian chief of staff of the armed forces regarding cross-border actions.

It was conveyed to the Iranian ambassador that such remarks were against the spirit of brotherly relations that existed between the two countries.

On Monday, Major General Mohammad Baqeri had warned Islamabad that Tehran would hit bases inside Pakistan if the government did not confront militants who carried out cross-border attacks.

Afghan envoy meets Sartaj Aziz, conveys concerns over ‘border violations’ during census

Ten Iranian border security guards were killed last month. Iran accuses Jaish Al-Adl, an organisation it has designated as a terrorist group, of killing the guards with long-range guns fired from inside Pakistan.

“We cannot accept the continuation of this situation,” Major General Baqeri was quoted as saying by state-run news agency IRNA. “We expect Pakistani officials to control [their] borders, arrest the terrorists and shut down their bases.”

“If the terrorist attacks continue, we will hit their safe havens and cells, wherever they are,” he had said.

The frequency of recent high-level exchanges from both sides had strengthened bilateral cooperation and during the Iranian foreign minister’s visit to Islamabad on May 3, the two sides had agreed to enhance cooperation on border issues.

The Iranian side was also urged to avoid issuing statements that could vitiate the environment.

When Javad Zarif visited Pakistan last week and asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to improve border security, he was assured that additional troops would be deployed along the border with Iran.

In 2014, Iran warned it would send troops to Pakistan to retrieve five Iranian border guards kidnapped by Jaish Al-Adl. Pakistan had said at the time that such action would be a violation of international law and warned Iranian forces against crossing the border.

Iran refrained from sending in its troops when a local cleric stepped in to resolve the situation. Four of the guards were released a few months later, but one was killed.

Jaish Al-Adl is a militant group that has carried out several attacks against Iranian security forces to highlight discrimination against minority groups in Iran. The group claimed responsibility for attacks that killed eight border guards in April 2015 and 14 border guards in October 2013.

Afghan envoy

Also on Tuesday, Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Omar Zakhilwal met Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz amidst tensions on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.

“In the meeting, I challenged the notion that… the unfortunate Chaman clash… was provoked by our side or that Pakistan had pushed to solve the dispute through talks but the Afghan side had not cooperated. In fact, to the exact contrary, [Pakistani] forces had crossed the Durand Line into Afghan villages in Spin Boldak for carrying out a survey,” the ambassador said in a message on his Facebook account on Tuesday.

He said this was not only a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also a clear provocation, since the Pakistani security leadership had been informed prior to the incident that carrying out a survey in Afghan villages would be challenged. He said it had been conveyed that Afghanistan was ready to talk to resolve the issue.

He said he also informed Mr Aziz that this had not happened in Chaman alone; Pakistani security forces had crossed the border and established security posts in Angur Adda, Ghulam Khan, Khawaja Kheder mountains and many other spots.

“I reminded the honourable adviser that our recent London agreement was precisely the mechanism through which such issues could be addressed and resolved before they lead to any unfortunate incidents or further deterioration of our relations. The Afghan side has continuously conveyed its genuine desire for resolving our issues through constructive talks, engagement and with desire for improved neighbourly relations,” he said.

When asked to comment on the envoy’s statement, Mr Aziz referred Dawn to Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakariya. The latter could not be reached for comment, despite several attempts.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2017