Killings inside Iran

Pakistan has been a victim of faceless unscrupulous actors who are out to spoil relations with its neighbours. The mushrooming of extremist elements and their nefarious agenda to breed discontent is now taking a toll. While incursions from the western frontiers of Afghanistan are a new normal, the Iranian southwestern borders are also simmering. The daredevil killing of eight Pakistani nationals near the border in Sistan last Saturday is a case in point, and is solely meant to stir up sectarian-cum-lingual unrest.

The modus operandi of the attack hints at ethnic profiling, as the victims are from the province of Punjab. This can be widely deciphered in the context of parochialism that is evident in Pakistan's province Balochistan, now a theatre of foreign and local militancy. This criminal act is surely meant to fracture cordiality between the two countries. The most alarming point, however, is that it has been carried out inside the Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan, and this is where the plot thickens.

In a damage-control exercise, Iran has already taken a strong exception to this criminal act, and this is where it should closely work with Pakistan to unmask the dreaded elements. An inquiry and arrest of killers, as demanded by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is the way to streamline state-centric confidence, and to send the right messages that bilateralism cannot be deterred by cross-border terrorism. While the borders with Iran are quite porous and act as a lifeline for the informal economy, a stringent security and intelligence check is inevitably desired.

The gravity of confusion at times has even led to flying of missiles and drones on each other, and the January 16, 2024 strikes on Balochistan by Tehran to target Iranian-Baloch militant group Jaish al-Adl is a case in point. The fact that the revulsion was fixed within days and diplomacy worked is a worth-emulating exercise in adversity. One hopes Iran will crack down on the sleeping cells to usher in harmony and regional proactivity.