DUBAI: Iran said on Monday it would send forces into Pakistan to free five border guards said to have been kidnapped by militants if Islamabad did not take measures to secure their release.

According to Iranian media reports, the guards were seized on Feb 6 in the Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan by militants who allegedly took them across the border to Pakistan.

“If Pakistan doesn’t take the needed steps to fight against the terrorist groups, we will send our forces into Pakistani soil. We will not wait for this country,” Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli was quoted as telling the semi-official Mehr news agency.

A Sunni Iranian group calling itself Jaish al Adl had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, according to a Twitter account purporting to belong to the group.

The account’s authenticity could not be verified.

The area where the kidnappings took place has a history of unrest, with the Sunni population complaining of discrimination by Iran’s authorities, a charge Tehran denies.

Iranian security forces have also fought drug traffickers in the region that borders Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The Iranian armed forces’ deputy chief of staff was quoted as telling the semi-official Fars news agency that Iran would “show tough confrontation in this case”.

“We will have no soft stand in this case and our neighbouring country ... should account for its lack of action,” Major General Hossein Hassani Sa’di told reporters in Tehran.

Gen Sa’di said the guards were still alive, and underlined that “political and military measures are under way to set them free”, without elaborating.

Interior Minister Rahmani-Fazli said a delegation would visit Pakistan to secure the guards’ release.

In October, 14 Iranian border guards were killed and three others captured in the same area in an attack that ISNA said was carried out by Jaish al Adl.

Jundollah, which Iran says is linked to Al Qaeda, has claimed a number of attacks and kidnappings since 2003, including a 2010 suicide bombing that killed at least 30 people at a mosque.—Reuters

Opinion

Editorial

Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...
Islamabad protest
Updated 20 Nov, 2024

Islamabad protest

As Nov 24 draws nearer, both the PTI and the Islamabad administration must remain wary and keep within the limits of reason and the law.
PIA uncertainty
20 Nov, 2024

PIA uncertainty

THE failed attempt to privatise the national flag carrier late last month has led to a fierce debate around the...
T20 disappointment
20 Nov, 2024

T20 disappointment

AFTER experiencing the historic high of the One-day International series triumph against Australia, Pakistan came...