KARACHI:Border Guards from Iran shot and killed four Pakistanis late on Tuesday night, officials said. Two other Pakistanis were injured.
The shooting took place near the Pakistan-Iran border in Washuk District, confirmed additional deputy commissioner Umar Jamali.
Naeem Umrani, deputy commissioner Washuk, said an investigation is on to determine the reason for the shooting.
As per Iranian Baloch outlet, at least 4 Pakistani Baloch citizens, residents of Mashkel, were killed and 8 injured in firing by Iranian forces. The deceased are identified as Shukrallah Rigi, Abdul Wasei, Asghar Sasoli and Khwasti Rigi. https://t.co/kVMIY48uKb#Iran #Pakistan https://t.co/u0ELsKPwtX pic.twitter.com/WN2bi55eKt
— FJ (@Natsecjeff) May 29, 2024
Former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Pakistan in April on a three-day official visit as the two Muslim neighbours sought to mend ties after unprecedented tit-for-tat military strikes this year. Raisi’s visit was seen as a key step towards normalising ties with Islamabad.
Iran and Pakistan have had a history of rocky relations, but the missile strikes in January were unprecedented.
Islamabad said it hit bases of the separatist Baloch Liberation Front and Baloch Liberation Army, while Tehran said it struck militants from the Jaish al Adl (JAA) group.
The militant groups operate in an area that includes Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan and Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province. Both regions are restive, mineral-rich and largely underdeveloped.
Pakistan recalled its ambassador to Tehran and prevented his counterpart from returning to Islamabad. It also cancelled all high-level diplomatic and trade engagements.
Efforts to lower the temperature subsequently led to assurances that the two nations respected each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as vows to expand security cooperation and requests for envoys to return to their posts.
But the recent shooting incident could undo those efforts.
(REUTERS)
