Six Pakistanis gunned down by Iranian border guards
The victims were travelling in a vehicle carrying cattle near Zaran border.
QUETTA:
At least six Pakistani nationals were gunned down and four others wounded when Iranian border security guards opened indiscriminate firing without prior warning near the country’s border with Iran.
According to reports, the incident took place in the Iranian territory close to the Zaran border overlooking Chah Bahar, which is a common route for informal trade between the neighbouring countries.
The Pakistani nationals were travelling in a vehicle carrying cattle and heading towards Chah Bahar from the Zaran border when they were intercepted by the Iranian border guards, the Balochistan Levies confirmed.
The Iranian security personnel – without any prior warning – opened fire at the Pakistani nationals from different directions. Six people died on the spot after receiving multiple bullet wounds while the four others sustained injuries.
The security personnel took the dead and the injured to Chah Bahar where the injured were provided treatment at a state-run hospital and the bodies of the deceased were detained for identification and legal proceedings.
The identity of the dead and injured could not be established till the filing of this report.
However, according to local people, some of them were residents of Gwadar while others were identified as Pakhtuns who were illegally entering Iran in search of better jobs and economic prospects.
Sources revealed that border guards on both sides of the frontier often engage in exchange of goods.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 27th, 2012.
At least six Pakistani nationals were gunned down and four others wounded when Iranian border security guards opened indiscriminate firing without prior warning near the country’s border with Iran.
According to reports, the incident took place in the Iranian territory close to the Zaran border overlooking Chah Bahar, which is a common route for informal trade between the neighbouring countries.
The Pakistani nationals were travelling in a vehicle carrying cattle and heading towards Chah Bahar from the Zaran border when they were intercepted by the Iranian border guards, the Balochistan Levies confirmed.
The Iranian security personnel – without any prior warning – opened fire at the Pakistani nationals from different directions. Six people died on the spot after receiving multiple bullet wounds while the four others sustained injuries.
The security personnel took the dead and the injured to Chah Bahar where the injured were provided treatment at a state-run hospital and the bodies of the deceased were detained for identification and legal proceedings.
The identity of the dead and injured could not be established till the filing of this report.
However, according to local people, some of them were residents of Gwadar while others were identified as Pakhtuns who were illegally entering Iran in search of better jobs and economic prospects.
Sources revealed that border guards on both sides of the frontier often engage in exchange of goods.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 27th, 2012.