Pakistan looked for Iran’s “complete cooperation” on Sunday by investigating yesterday the inhuman and cowardly “murder of eight of her nationals in the province of Balucostan of Sistan-Baluchestán of the neighbor, the Foreign Ministry said.
“Pakistan firmly condemns the inhuman and cowardly murder of his nationals in Iran. We expect the full cooperation of the Iranian side in the investigation of the matter and in the timely repatriation of the victims’ remains,” said a press release issued by the FO.
Pakistani citizens were “tragically killed” in Mehrestan County, located approximately 230 kilometers from the border between Pakistan-Iran, he said.
According to previous reports, unknown armed men stormed a workshop at some point on Saturday night and, after tie their hands and feet, opened indiscriminate shots and killed them. Later, the attackers fled the site.
The eight workers came from several Punjab areas, the Associated Press of Pakistan declared, listing their names.
A spokesman for the forbidden team, the National Army of Baluchistan (BNA), the responsibility of the incident was attributed through a statement issued to the media. However, AFP He informed that the militant group Jaishul Adl also attributed the responsibility of the attack.
According to the FO, Pakistani officials in Iran were in “constant touch” with the authorities there for an investigation into the incident and the repatriation of the bodies.
“On the instructions of the Vice Prime Minister/Minister of Foreign Affairs [Ishaq Dar]Our Embassy in Tehran and our Consulate in Zahidan is constantly contacting the Iranian authorities for comprehensive investigation to ensure that perpetrators are taken before justice, as well as by the rapid repatriation of the remains of the victims to Pakistan, “said the FO.
“Our mission has already requested consular access to verify its identities,” he added. He pointed out that the leadership and people of Pakistan were “deeply sad and disturbed by the tragic incident.”
More updates will be provided as soon as additional details about the identification of the bodies and the “circumstances that lead to their tragic deaths available,” said the FO.
After the incident yesterday, the Iranian police hurried to the area and changed the bodies to a hospital after recovering them.
Iranian authorities said the police were investigating the incident.
It was the second incident of this type in Sistan-Baluchestan, since nine Pakistani workers who come from Punjab were shot dead by attackers not identified on January 27, 2024 in the province.
That incident occurred the same month that Pakistan made retaliation strikes on terrorist hiding places in Sistan-Baluchestan after Iran launched attacks in the border city of Panjgur in Baluchistan here.
Baluchistan, which limits Sistan-Baluchestan, has witnessed a series of attacks aimed at those that come from Punjab.
At the end of March, five passengers were shot dead in a shot incident in the Kalmat area of the Baluchistan Gwadar district, and the officials said that at least four of them belonged to Punjab.
Days before that, four Punjab workers were shot dead by unknown assailants in the Kalat district.
In February, seven passengers to Punjab were downloaded from a bus and shot dead in the Barkhan district of the province.
In August last year, when the province was under a series of attacks by the Baluchistan Liberation Army forbidden, 23 travelers were downloaded from trucks and buses and fired in the Musakhail district.
In two separate incidents in April 2024, nine people were killed after being forced to leave a bus near Noshki, while two Punjab workers were shot in Kech. The following month, seven Punjab barbers were shot dead near Gwadar.
The Iranian embassy condemns inhuman and cowardly murders’
Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, also firmly condemned the “inhuman and armed incident against eight Pakistani nationals” in a statement.
“Terrorism is a difficult chronic situation and a common threat throughout the region for which the traitorous elements, in collaboration with international terrorism, security and objective stability throughout the region,” reads the statement.
“The combination of this sinister phenomenon requires collective efforts and sets from all countries to eradicate all forms of terrorism and extremism that have claimed the lives of thousands of innocent people in recent decades,” Moghadam emphasized.
Early, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed a deep pain and pain for the “brutal murder” of Pakistani workers, administered by the State Pakistan radio reported.
“The threat of terrorism is devastating for all regional countries,” said the prime minister.
He urged the Iranian government to arrest the perpetrators immediately, overcome “only punishment to them” and present the “reasons for this cruel act.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz also ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact the families of the deceased Pakistani and the Pakistan embassy in Iran for the safe return of their bodies.
Duel families seek the repatriation of bodies
Meanwhile, the heirs of the eight “mechanics and engines” killed in the objective murders have appealed to the government to guarantee the repatriation of the bodies of their loved ones as soon as possible, the Application reported.
According ApplicationThe victims were identified as Dilshad Jind Wada, their son Danish, Naeem Fareed, Jaffar Ramazan and Aamir Liaquat de Samma Satta; Nasir de Musafir Khana; and Khalid and Jamshaid from Ahmadpur East.
Speaking to the media, Muhammad Sajad, the brother of the victim Jamshaid, called on the government to take immediate measures for the repatriation of his brother’s body.
Khalid’s mother and widow also requested that the bodies be returned to Pakistan as soon as possible.
He Application He cited family afflicted saying they were in a “trauma state and deep shock.” “Our beloved was an innocent person who was brutally murdered. We are very poor people,” both said.
Dilshad’s sister said her brother’s murder was a “great shock” for the family. She said those killed in the murders included her brother and two nephews. The sister appealed to the authorities to take measures for the repatriation and justice of the bodies.
Application He informed that Dilshad had taken his son, nephew and other mechanics from Bahawalpur to work in an engine workshop he had established in the rural area of Hizabad.
They had been living in the workshop, which was used to abolish and repair vehicles, during the last seven years, according to the report.
ADDITION OF AFP
