ISLAMABAD: The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Office has confirmed the deaths of two Pakistani citizens in Iran’s restive Sistan-Baluchistan province.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Foreign Office spokesman said that steps are being taken to bring back the bodies of the two deceased Pakistanis. In a brief statement, the Foreign Office spokesperson said that “Iranian authorities have confirmed the killing of two Pakistani citizens, Mujahid and Mohammad Fahim, in Sistan-Baluchistan.”
The spokesperson further stated that the Pakistani embassy in Tehran is in touch with the Iranian authorities, who are providing necessary cooperation and assistance. He said that ‘arrangements will be made to bring back the bodies of the two Pakistani citizens as soon as the necessary administrative and legal requirements are met.
It should be noted that thousands of people from backwards areas of Pakistan often go to Iran to find employment in sectors such as vehicle repair, construction and agriculture. The province of Sistan and Balochistan, one of the most backwards areas of Iran along the border with Pakistan, has been in turmoil for a long time.
The province is home to drug trafficking groups, separatists from the Baloch minority and militants operating on religious grounds. Earlier this year, in April, eight Pakistani citizens who were working as motor mechanics were shot dead by unknown assailants in Mehrestan county of Iran’s south-eastern province of Sistan.
The Baloch National Army (BNA), a separatist organisation operating in Balochistan province, claimed responsibility for the incident.
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