There are conflicting reports on whether these Iranians are Revolutionary Guards or Border Guards. If it is a situation where border guards are detained, it might be due to an “errrant” patrol, however something tells me there is more to the story than this new story.
I definitely hope that Iran does not resort to trying to destabilize Pakistan, as it will further inflame relations and might possibly destroy the goodwill that the two nations were jointly working on.
Pakistan is fighting it’s own insurgency in Baluchistan province, so any support for Jundollah would not be irrational but also disastrous (If you read Jundollah’s manifesto).
QUETTA: Authorities in Pakistan on Monday interrogated 12 Iranians who were arrested for illegally crossing the border with Iran, Pakistan officials said.
‘There are 12 Iranians who have been arrested along with two vehicles,’ Mohammad Akbar Durrani, home secretary of Balochistan, told AFP.
‘They are being interrogated,’ Durrani said, declining to give any details on the men’s identities.
‘We informed the Foreign Office about the arrests,’ he added.
A border official said 11 Iranian Revolutionary Guards were arrested after they crossed the border into Pakistan, but he spoke on condition of anonymity and there was no other confirmation.
A paramilitary spokesman said only that ‘some Iranians’ who intruded four kilometres (2.4 miles) into Pakistani territory were arrested at Mashkail.
Al-Alam, the Iranian TV news channel, rejected reports that the men were Revolutionary Guards, and quoted an ‘informed source’ as saying negotiations were under way to secure the release of the men, who were border guards.
‘No Revolutionary Guards were arrested,’ Al-Alam quoted its source as saying.
‘A border patrol group (not Revolutionary Guards) were detained while chasing a vehicle which went into the Pakistani side. There is ongoing negotiation for their release.’
Iran says that those behind an October 18 attack that killed 42 people, including 15 members of its elite Revolutionary Guards, sneaked across the Pakistan border.
On Monday, Guards chief Mohammad Ali Jafari once again ramped up pressure on Islamabad to hand over Abdolmalek Rigi, the leader of the rebel group Jundallah (Soldiers of God) who Tehran says is based in Pakistan.
‘We are expecting this (Pakistani) government to cooperate with Iran in apprehending this guy (Rigi),’ he said, adding that Islamabad was under the ‘influence and pressure of America.’
Islamabad has strongly denied that the Jundallah attack was launched from its territory.
I definitely hope that Iran does not resort to trying to destabilize Pakistan, as it will further inflame relations and might possibly destroy the goodwill that the two nations were jointly working on.
unless iran feels that it was destroyed last week in the blast. iran has accused pakistan before, and if we are to defuse the situation jundalla must be brought to a court
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Pakistan is fighting it's own insurgency in Baluchistan province, so any support for Jundollah would not be irrational but also disastrous (If you read Jundollah's manifesto).
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irrational but not impossible
the interior ministers did meet last week, looks like pakistan didnt/couldnt offer iran enough
hey whats the deal with pakistan-iran hostility? I thought we were good friends but am now learing there is some friction between the two countries. What is the background for this? I remember being taught in school Iran was the first country that recognized Pakistan after its creation. So where has the animosity come from?
Iranian media reported that it was Iranian border patrol (not the revolutionary guards) who had crossed the border while in pursuit of some fuel-thieves.
i think it must be made clear to Iran that they are NOT the US, and any illusions of conducting hot pursuits into our territory are founded on a sense of self-significance that is not founded on reality. Im glad these idiots got caught, and Pakistan for once played it exactly right.
hey whats the deal with pakistan-iran hostility? I thought we were good friends but am now learing there is some friction between the two countries. What is the background for this? I remember being taught in school Iran was the first country that recognized Pakistan after its creation. So where has the animosity come from?
It mainly began after the 1979 revolution in Iran. Pakistan under Zia drew very close to the mainly Sunni arab countries that were trying to contain Iran's revolutionary influence.
It blew up in the 1990s. Pakistan backed the anti-Shia Hekmatyr and later Taliban movements based in East Afghanistan, and Iran back the Shia mujahideen factions from West Afghanistan. Once the Taliban hit the scene, Pakistan and Iran were engaged in a full-scale proxy war for Afghanistan. Pakistan wanted the Taliban to win, and Iran wanted the Northern Alliance to win.