Baloch separatists killed eight Pakistanis inside Iran. The part of Iran which has been attacked seems to be from the border of Balochistan province of Pakistan and is about 230 km away. Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday condemned the “cruel killings of eight Pakistanis”, from Tehran to “arrest the culprits immediately, punish them and make them public the reasons behind this cruel act”. Two groups have taken responsibility for these murders- Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) is a separatist group demanding Azad Balochistan. The second group is Jaish al-Adal (Arabic for Army of Justice), a Baloch jihadi group located in Pakistan but also active in Iran.
How was the murder?
The news agency- According to the Associated Press of Pakistan, eight people killed were from Punjab, the most populous province of Pakistan. According to media reports, unknown armed men entered a workshop on Saturday night and after tying the hands and feet of Pakistani workers working there, they shot indiscriminate firing and killed them. Later the attackers fled from the spot.
Pakistani laborers usually do car repairing and farming work in the border area of Iran. However, the recent targeted killing indicates increasing insecurity for Pakistani workers in this area of Iran.
What has Pakistan demanded?
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed deep grief over the “brutal murder” of Pakistani workers. “The threat of terrorism is disastrous for all regional countries.” He urged the Iranian government to immediately arrest the criminals, give them proper punishment and bring out the reasons for this cruel act. PM Shahbaz also instructed the Ministry of External Affairs to contact the Pakistan Embassy in Iran for a safe return to the families of the deceased Pakistanis and their bodies.
Meanwhile, the families of eight “motor mechanics and laborers” have appealed to the Pakistani government to ensure the bodies of their loved ones as soon as possible.
What did Iran say on the murder of 8 Pakistanis?
Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam strongly condemned the murder against eight Pakistani citizens in a statement. The statement said, “Terrorism is an old plight and a common threat in the entire region, by which traitors, in collaboration with international terrorism, target security and stability throughout the region.”
Moghadam insisted, “To deal with this inauspicious incident, all countries require collective and joint efforts to eliminate all forms of terrorism and extremism, which have killed thousands of innocent people in recent decades.”
Balochistan struggles with violence
Poor Balochistan has been struggling with extremism for decades, the separatist groups here claim that it is being exploited by the people of other states of Pakistan, its natural resources are getting very little benefit to the local population.
- This month, after the attack on Panjgur, the border city of Balochistan by Iran, Pakistan had retaliated on terrorist bases in Sistan-Balochistan. Many attacks have been seen in Balochistan bordering the border of Sistan-Balochistan targeting the people of Punjab.
- At the end of March, five passengers were shot dead in a firing incident in Kalamat area of Gwadar district of Balochistan, said that at least four of them were from Punjab. A few days before that, four laborers of Punjab were shot dead by unknown assailants in Kalat district.
- In February, seven passengers going to Punjab were removed from a bus and shot dead in Barkhan district of the province. In August last year, when the province was flooded with the prohibited Balochistan Liberation Army attacks, 23 passengers were removed from trucks and buses in Musakhil district and shot.
- In January last year, at least nine Pakistanis were killed and three were injured in a shootout incident in the southeastern region of Iran near the border with Pakistan. This violent incident occurred a day after a small tension between Islamabad and Tehran, a day after a re -start of diplomatic relations.
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