ISLAMABAD: A day after the official restoration of diplomatic ties between Pakistan and Iran, news emerged on Saturday that at least nine Pakistani citizens were killed and three others injured in a shooting incident near the Pakistani border in Iran.
According to Iranian media, nine “foreigners” were victims of an armed attack in the southeastern region of Iran near the border with Pakistan. The report indicated that no group had claimed responsibility for the attack.
Of the identified victims, two were laborers from Pakistan’s Lodhran area, while five, including two brothers, belonged to Tehsil Alipur in Punjab’s District Muzaffargarh. The family of the victims, who had traveled to Iran for labor purposes, reported that the two worked at an auto-repair workshop.
Families from Alipur reached out to the tehsil’s assistant commissioner, seeking assistance for the repatriation of the victims’ remains. A friend of one of the victims informed Geo News that the incident occurred around 2:30 am on Saturday, injuring three people.
This tragic event occurred amidst efforts by the neighboring countries to mend bilateral ties following a brief period of cross-border tensions triggered by Iran’s surprise attack on a militant outfit inside Pakistan.
Pakistani Ambassador to Iran Muhammad Muddasir Tipu, who arrived in Iran’s capital on Friday night, confirmed the shooting of nine Pakistanis in a post on the microblogging site X (formerly known as Twitter).
Deeply shocked by horrifying killing of 9 Pakistanis in Saravan. Embassy will extend full support to bereaved families. Counsel Zahidan is already on his way to incident site & hospital where injured are under treatment.We called upon 🇮🇷 to extend full cooperation in the matter.
— Ambassador Mudassir (@AmbMudassir) January 27, 2024
According to the ambassador, the incident took place in the Iranian city of Saravan, located in Sistan-Baluchistan, Iran’s bordering province with Balochistan.
Expressing deep shock, Ambassador Mudassir pledged full support to the bereaved families and mentioned that an official was dispatched to visit the incident site and the hospital where the injured were being treated. The Pakistani authorities have also called upon Iran to provide full cooperation in the matter.
(Islamabad51_Newsdesk)
