Nine Pakistani citizens have been shot dead in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has given this information. “This is a horrific and despicable incident and we unequivocally condemn it,” ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was quoted as saying in a statement.
He said Pakistan is in touch with Iranian authorities and stressed the need to immediately investigate the incident and take action against those involved in the crime.
“Pakistan’s consul is heading to the hospital in Zahedan, a city in southeastern Iran, where injured people are being treated and will reach there in a few hours due to the long distance and security imperatives,” Baloch said.
He said the consul would also meet local authorities and, among other things, stress the urgent need for strict action against criminals.
Nine non-Iranian civilians were killed by unidentified armed men in Sistan and Baluchestan on Saturday, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
The agency quoted informed people as saying that armed men killed foreign nationals in a house in Sarwan County in the early hours of Saturday.
The Pakistani spokesperson said, “We are fully aware of this serious matter and are taking all necessary steps in this regard and the embassy will do its best to bring back the bodies as soon as possible.”
Halwash, an advocacy group for the Baloch people, shared images online of what appeared to be the bodies of the victims. The group said three people were injured.
It was also reported that he was a Pakistani citizen. He identified four people, saying all the victims were employees at a vehicle maintenance shop.
Let us tell you that last week Pakistan had allegedly retaliated in the same area targeting terrorist hideouts, in which at least nine people were killed.
The attacks follow Iran’s attack on Pakistani soil on Tuesday, which killed two children in the south-western Balochistan province.