QUETTA-UNS: Nine Pakistan nationals were allegedly shot dead in a horrific incident in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan near Balochistan.
Confirming the development, Pakistan Ambassador to Iran Mudassir Tipu in a social media post said the killings took place in Saravan city.
Embassy will extend full support to the bereaved families, he said, adding that a Pakistan diplomat was on his way to the incident site and hospital where the injured are under treatment.
“We called upon Iran to extend full cooperation in the matter,” he added.
Iranian media reported that no militant group had claimed responsibility for the brutal act so far. It said that three people were also injured in the incident.
All the Pakistanis, who were shot dead, worked at a workshop as labourer in Iran.
The development comes a day after the ambassadors of Pakistan and Iran returned to their respective embassies after days of tension between the neighbouring countries over airstrikes by Tehran.
On the social media platform X [formerly Twitter], Additional Foreign Secretary Rahim Hayat Qureshi expressed his delight at the return of the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan.
“Excellency Iranian ambassador, we here in Pakistan are delighted with your arrival back at your second home. Our fraternal relations will go from strength to strength. Grateful for the constructive role played by the two governments and their diplomats.”
Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, “It is a horrifying and despicable incident and we condemn it unequivocally”.
She said Pakistani authorities are in touch with Iranian authorities and have underscored the need to immediately investigate the incident and hold to account those involved in this heinous crime.
“Moreover, our Consul in Zahedan is on way to the hospital where injured people are being treated and will reach there in a few hours due to long distances and security imperatives involved. He will also meet local authorities, and among other things, impress upon them the urgent need for strong action against the perpetrators of this crime,” she said.
“We are fully seized of this grave matter and are taking all neccessary measures in this regard. The embassy will do its best to repatriate dead bodies at the earliest.”
Such cowardly attacks cannot deter Pakistan from its determination to fight terrorism, the spokesperson concluded.
