Iranian, Pakistani FMs Discuss Fate of Abducted Border Guards
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, held talks about the destiny of a number of Iranian border guards who were recently abducted by Takfiri terrorists near the Pakistani border.
In a telephone conversation on Wednesday evening, Zarif stressed the necessity for the Pakistani government to increase the security of common borders according to previous agreements between the two countries.
He also called on Islamabad to take serious and rapid actions to ensure the safety of the Iranian abductees and identify and arrest the perpetrators behind “the terrorist and inhumane incident”.
The Pakistani top diplomat, for his part, condemned the terrorist move and made assurances that his country would take all measures necessary to arrest the culprits and release the Iranian border guards.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force said on Tuesday that a number of its troops and local Basij forces had been abducted at a border post southeast of Iran on Monday evening.
In a statement, the Ground Force’s Quds Base said a number of local Basij forces and the border regiment forces stationed at a border post in Mirjaveh region in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan were abducted on Monday evening after acts of treason and collusion involving an element or elements of the anti-Revolution groups who had infiltrated the country.
It added that the Iranian defense and security forces along the border areas have launched a manhunt to catch the outlaws, terrorists and infiltrators and are taking serious measures to free the abductees.
Later on Tuesday, Brigadier General Pakpour said members of the so-called ‘Jaish-ul-Adl’ terrorist group infiltrated the country from the Pakistani side of the border and took hostage a number of local Basij forces, border guards and two IRGC members.
He said the terrorists took the Iranian forces to the Pakistani territory.
