Cross-border clashes: Pakistan, Iran officials agree to improve border security

Surveillance to increase along border after Tehran meeting

QUETTA:

Security officials of Pakistan and Iran have agreed to improve coordination on intelligence-sharing following clashes on the border, following a meeting in Tehran.

Inspector General (IG) Frontier Corps (FC) Major General Ejaz Shahid met Iranian Border Police Chief General Qasim Razai to discuss recent incidents along bordering areas. A spokesperson in Quetta said the officials agreed to improve security and surveillance of the border.

Inspector General Frontier Corps Balochistan Major General Ejaz Shahid said good cooperation between Pakistan-Iran is necessary for durable peace in the region. “Pakistan strongly condemns the terrorism acts in Iran and Pakistan and wants very good relations with Iran,” he said, “Pakistan and Iran should extend their coordination to improve border security.” Pakistan shares a 909 kilometer-long border with Iran.

Sources said Iran complained that terrorists involved in attacking Iranian border guards often flee towards Pakistani Balochistan.

On Thursday last week, Iranian border guards reportedly killed a Pakistan soldier and wounded three others in a cross-border clash. The next day, 30 Iranian border troops entered two kilometers inside Pakistan and raided a house. On the same day, Iran said two Iranian borders guards were killed by a terrorist near the Pakistani border and later Iranian border guards killed several rebels. The incidents of border violations have increased in the past week.



The second-in-command of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Hossein Salami said on several occasions that Iran will step in to contain terrorists if Islamabad refuses to secure its borders to keep terrorists from slipping into the Islamic Republic.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2014.