Tension between neighbours

Statements by a high official of Iran suggesting that the country would consider crossing into Pakistani territory to rescue six abducted Iranian border guards are troubling — and create needless tensions between the two countries. Expressing concern is one matter, but threatening to put boots on the ground of another country is quite another — that too, by a country that has long blamed foreign powers for not respecting its sovereignty.



While Iran’s concerns on the matter of six abducted guards are indeed legitimate, putting Pakistan, which is a friend, in such an awkward position through accusatory and threatening public statements is not the correct way to go. It is not as if diplomatic ties between the two countries have broken down. It is unfortunate that this route wasn’t taken given Pakistan’s continued diplomatic engagement with Iran at a time Tehran was totally isolated from the world — whether it was in the form of signing trade deals at the risk of sanctions from the West, or in the form of high-level presidential visits. It should also be recalled that Pakistan played a big role in capturing leaders of Jundullah, the leading anti-Iran organisation that had carried out a number of attacks in Iran through the Balochistan border. Abdolhamid Rigi, brother of the commander of Jundallah, was captured and handed over by Pakistan to Iran to face justice in 2008 and two years later, Pakistan played a key role in the capture of Abdolmalik Rigi — the chief of the organisation.

Tehran will also be familiar with the difficulty of policing the lawless ‘Triangle of Death’ area between the Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan borders. Iran itself has not been able to defend that territory and Pakistan, as Tehran will know well, is already stretched by a number of security-related problems. Irredentism in the two Balochistans is a common threat to both countries. One needs to question what prompted such a sudden strong statement two weeks after its guards were abducted. Does the timing have anything to do with the recent agreement between Islamabad and Riyadh on the Syrian situation? Iran would do well to avoid playing into the hands of those fomenting proxy politics in the region — as such policies never turn out well.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2014.

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