Iran Calls for Pakistan’s Swift Action to Secure Borders

In a telephone conversation with Pakistani Federal Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Monday, Rahmani Fazli said Islamabad should prevent the infiltration of terrorists into Iran, smuggling of narcotics and illegal crossing into Iran by Afghan nationals from the Pakistani border.

He pointed to the recent terrorist crime against Iranian border guards serving on the country’s southeastern frontier near the town of Mirjaveh and added that the incident was not expected considering the cordial relations between the two countries.

The Iranian minister invited Ali Khan to pay a visit to Tehran and said, “We are ready to hold a conference on cooperation on security, economic and border issues as soon as possible.”

On April 26, 11 Iranian border guards were killed and three others injured in clashes near Mirjaveh in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-and-Baluchestan. The so-called Jaish ul-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, which was launched from the Pakistani soil. The assailants escaped into Pakistani territory immediately after the attack.

Rahmani Fazli also called for enhanced economic interaction and commercial cooperation between the two countries, saying, “Economic interaction in border areas can establish sustainable security along common borders.”

The Pakistani minister, for his part, said his country was resolved to implement bilateral agreements.

He added that the Pakistani prime minister had tasked him with implementing the accords.