GWADAR: Iranian forces fired about half a dozen mortar shells into Pakistani territory near the Panjgur border in Balochistan on Saturday, according to official sources.

The shells were fired by Iranian border guards without provocation. The shells landed and exploded in an open space in the Parako area, a small village in Panjgur district.

Security officials said that mortar shells were fired in the early hours of the day, adding that no casualty was reported.

However, panic gripped the people of the area when they woke up to loud explosions.

Levies and Frontier Corps personnel rushed to the site where the shells had landed to collect evidence. The Panjgur deputy commissioner informed the officials concerned in Quetta about the incident.

Iranian forces have violated Pakistani territory with frequency in recent months and Islamabad has repeatedly lodged protests with Tehran over border violations.

Pakistan shares a 900km porous border with Iran and the two countries decided in 2014 to boost intelligence coordination to wipe out terrorists from the region.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2018