ISLAMABAD: Pakistan strongly condemned a militant attack in Iran that claimed the lives of six security personnel in the country, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said on Sunday, days after the two states inaugurated a border market and agreed to bolster trade relations with one another.
Six border guards were killed in Iran’s Saravan town in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balochistan on Saturday, Iranian state TV reported. The town is located some 1,360 kilometers (850 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran.
Iranian state media did not blame the attack on any group, saying that the militants escaped with casualties after the attack. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the incident either. The attack takes place after Iran and Pakistan’s top leaders inaugurated the first border market on Thursday as both countries attempt to bolster bilateral trade.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the terrorist attack in the Sarawan County of Iran on 20 May 2023, resulting in the loss of lives of six Iranian security personnel,” the MoFA spokesperson said in a statement.
“The government and people of Pakistan express their deepest condolences to the bereaved families of the martyrs as well as to the Iranian government over this tragic incident.”
Pakistan stressed upon the need for mutual efforts to eliminate “terrorism” on both sides of the border.
“Pakistan views Pak- Iran border as a border of peace and friendship; and remains committed to working with Iran toward that end,” the statement said.
Along with the border market, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi also inaugurated an electricity transmission line, which will provide some of Pakistan’s remote regions with Iranian electricity.
