Daily Times

Iranian envoy to Pakistan in his statement condemned the killings of Pakistani labourers in Iran and said Tehran and Islamabad will not tolerate affliction of damage to the countries’ relations.

“Iran and Pakistan will not allow enemies to cause damage to the countries’ brotherly relations,” the Iranian envoy said in his statement. His remarks came hours after unknown assailants gunned down at least nine Pakistani nationals and injured three others in the suburb of the city of Saravan in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan.

According to the information available with a private TV channel, among the victims, five hailed from different areas of Alipur in Punjab province and had been working in Iran for the past decade.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Pakistan’s envoy to Tehran condemned the “horrifying killings” and called upon Iran to extend full cooperation with Pakistani authorities on the matter.

The development came a day after Mudassir arrived in Tehran while his Iranian counterpart landed in Islamabad, signalling the full restoration of diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring countries following deadly cross-border attacks.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson on Sunday condemned the killing of nine Pakistani nationals in southeastern Iran a day earlier, saying that it is investigating the incident and vowed that both countries would not let “enemies” harm their fraternal relations.

Nine Pakistani citizens were killed by unidentified gunmen in Iran’s restive southeastern border area of Saravan on Saturday, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran and a rights group said.

Haalvash, the Baloch rights group, said on its website the victims were Pakistani nationals who lived at an auto repair shop where they worked. Pakistan condemned the “horrific” incident and demanded an immediate inquiry.

Nasser Kanani, the Iranian foreign ministry’s spokesperson, “strongly condemned” the incident and expressed sympathy with Pakistan’s government and its people.

“The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pointing out that the investigation in this field is ongoing by the relevant authorities of our country, added: Iran and Pakistan will not allow enemies to harm the fraternal relations of the two countries,” Iran’s foreign ministry said.

The development took place after Pakistani and Iranian ambassadors returned to their posts on Friday after being recalled. Pakistan and Iran suspended diplomatic ties when both countries exchanged missile strikes last week at what they said were militant targets. The strikes by the two countries were the highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years, however, both countries quickly moved to de-escalate tensions.

The impoverished Sistan-Baluchestan region has long been the scene of sporadic clashes between security forces and separatist militants and smugglers.

Iran has some of the lowest fuel prices in the world and this has also led to an increase in fuel-smuggling to Pakistan and Afghanistan despite a crackdown by Iranian border guards.