Islamabad, Jan 28: Pakistan has requested a thorough probe into the savage attack in Iran that claimed the lives of nine of its citizens, which happened days after tensions between the two countries erupted over a tit-for-tat cross-border shooting. Unknown assailants opened indiscriminate fire on nine Pakistani labourers on Saturday in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province, close to the Pakistani border. Three more workers were wounded. In the province of Sistan-Baluchestan, “witnesses reported unknown armed men killed nine non-Iranians in a house in the Sirkan neighbourhood of Saravan city,” according to Iran’s Mehr news agency. At first, no organisation or person took ownership of the attack.The Foreign Office of Pakistan has called for a thorough inquiry into the attack and the prompt prosecution of those who carried it out. FO spokesman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch denounced the “horrifying and despicable” attack and stated, “We are in touch with Iranian authorities and have underscored the need to immediately investigate the incident and hold to account those involved in this heinous crime.” Because of the great distance and security concerns, she claimed, Pakistan’s consul in Zahedan was anticipated to arrive in a few hours in order to help the injured.Additionally, the Pakistani ambassador was supposed to meet with the local authorities to insist on taking firm measures against the offenders. As word of their deaths spread, the victims’ relatives staged a demonstration in front of the Alipur assistant commissioner’s office and pleaded with the Pakistani government to see to it that their loved ones’ remains were returned to Muzaffargarh. According to Baloch, steps were being taken to enable the swift return of the victims’ remains to their families. She continued, “Pakistan’s resolve to combat terrorism is not diminished by this cowardly attack.” Muddasir Tipu, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, conveyed his outrage at the killings and promised the grieving families his entire support.Tipu wrote on X, “We have called upon Iran for full cooperation in this matter.” The event occurs the day before the Iranian foreign minister is scheduled to visit Islamabad, when talks on border security and the problem of militant sanctuaries along the shared border are anticipated to be discussed. This incident is expected to increase tensions between Iran and Pakistan because it happened just one week after those two countries’ tit-for-tat strikes in each other’s territories. After Pakistan carried out “precision military strikes” on January 18 against what it claimed “terrorist hideouts” in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province, which resulted in nine deaths, tensions between Islamabad and Tehran increased.The incident was perceived as a form of reprisal for Iranian drone and missile strikes on two bases of the Sunni militant organisation Jaish al-Adl in Pakistan’s restive province of Balochistan last Tuesday. Pakistan withdrew its ambassador from Tehran amid hostilities and prevented Iran’s envoy from coming back to Islamabad. Regarding Pakistan’s strikes, Tehran has called for the charge d’affaires of Islamabad. On the other hand, the two nations declared last Monday that they had made the decision to defuse the situation and resume diplomatic missions, with both ambassadors going back to their positions. The same area was used for Saturday’s deaths as Pakistan’s recent retaliatory strikes against Baloch rebel sanctuaries.
