THE brutal killings of eight Pakistani workers in Iran on Saturday underscore the need for both countries to cooperate in the field of counterterrorism, and defeat common enemies determined to sour relations.

The atrocity took place in a town in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province, which borders Pakistan, in a region known for its volatility on both sides. All the victims, who worked at a motor workshop, hailed from the Bahawalpur area, and were reportedly killed execution-style.

Two groups representing very different strands of terrorism claimed to have carried out this grisly crime: the Balochistan National/Nationalist Army and Jaish al-Adl. The former is a Baloch separatist group that has remained largely inactive in the recent past, while the latter is an avatar of Jundullah, an Iranian Baloch group with religious leanings. The BNA has in the past been involved in terrorist activity inside Pakistan, while Jaish al-Adl usually targets Iranian security forces.

The last such attack occurred in October 2024, killing at least 10 Iranian border guards near the Pakistani frontier. Meanwhile, workers from Punjab were also murdered by terrorists in Sistan-Baluchestan in January 2024. State authorities on both sides must investigate the latest attack, while Tehran should locate the perpetrators and bring them to justice. It should also ensure that Pakistanis working in Iran are provided with adequate security.

The gruesome crime mirrors several such attacks in Balochistan, in which terrorists have murdered innocent people based on their ethnic origin. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called upon Iran to hand out exemplary punishment to those involved, while the Iranian foreign ministry has promised to “spare no effort” to get to the culprits. With regard to who may actually be behind this atrocious crime, the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan has said “traitorous elements, in collaboration with international terrorism” are involved. Further clarity is needed to determine who exactly these elements are.

The fact is that both Pakistan and Iran face common enemies in the shape of non-state actors involved in terrorism. The prime minister has also highlighted this matter. That is why it is important for both to strengthen CT cooperation, and ensure that their respective territories are not used against each other. These malign actors must not be allowed to target innocent people, and damage bilateral ties. Security should particularly be beefed up in the border areas to prevent militant groups and criminal gangs from exploiting ungoverned spaces and remote locations.

It is well known that some hostile foreign actors may be looking to fuel unrest in the Pakistan-Iran border region by encouraging proxies to carry out acts of terrorism. That is why the governments of both states need to remain alert and jointly thwart such nefarious plans.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2025