A day after Pakistan and Iran officially resumed diplomatic ties following a brief strain, at least nine Pakistani citizens were killed, and three sustained injuries in a firing incident near the Pakistani border in Iran, it emerged on Saturday.
According to Iranian media reports, nine “foreigners” were slain in an armed attack in the country’s southeastern region near the border with Pakistan. The report also stated that “no group has claimed responsibility” for the attack.
Two of the victims, identified as laborers from Pakistan’s Lodhran area, and five others, including two brothers from Tehsil Alipur in Punjab’s District Muzaffargarh, were among those killed.
“Zubair and his nephew had gone to Iran for labor,” Geo News reported, citing the family. The two worked at an auto-repair workshop in Iran. Meanwhile, the families from Alipur reached out to the tehsil’s assistant commissioner, demanding help in returning the victims’ mortal remains.
A friend of one of the victims, speaking to a private television channel of Pakistan, mentioned that the incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday, around 2:30 am, with three people injured in the shooting.
The unfortunate incident serves as a setback to the neighboring countries’ efforts to mend bilateral ties following a short but aggressive episode of cross-border tensions arising from Iran’s surprise attack targeting a militant outfit inside Pakistan.
Foreign Minister Jilani’s Reaction Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani expressed grief over the gun attack on Pakistani citizens in Iran, calling it a “bid to ruin Pak-Iran ties.” He demanded the Iranian government take action against those responsible for the attack and extended condolences to the victims’ families.
Pakistani Ambassador to Iran Muhammad Muddasir Tipu confirmed the shooting of nine Pakistanis in a tweet on microblogging site X. The incident took place in the Iranian city of Saravan, located in Sistan-Baluchistan, Iran’s bordering province with Balochistan.
“Deeply shocked by [the] horrifying killing of 9 Pakistanis in Saravan. [The] Embassy will extend full support to bereaved families,” Amb Mudassir wrote.
The envoy also stated that Pakistani authorities have called upon Iran to extend full cooperation in the matter.
Foreign Office’s Response In response to media queries, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch condemned the “horrifying and despicable incident.” She emphasized the need for an immediate investigation and accountability for those involved in the heinous crime. Baloch added that the embassy would do its best to repatriate bodies at the earliest.
“Such cowardly attacks cannot deter Pakistan from its determination to fight terrorism,” she stated.
The Pakistani and Iranian diplomats resumed their duties in Tehran and Islamabad, respectively, after returning to the capitals late on Friday. The neighboring countries had shortly halted diplomatic ties, recalling their envoys, after an “unprovoked” cross-border attack from Iran, following the “precision military strikes” on terrorists’ hideouts in Sistan-Baluchestan by Pakistan as a response.
