ISTANBUL:
Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Friday said that Jundallah, an Iranian militant organisation, is active on the Pak-Iran border and both countries will form a joint strategy against the terrorist outfit.
While speaking to the media in Istanbul, Malik said that, if provided with solid evidence, Pakistan is willing to act against those responsible for the suicide blasts in Iran. Malik added that Pakistan would not allow anyone to use its land against another country.
President Asif Ali Zardari has also discussed the situation with his Iranian counterpart and has assured him of full support.
Iranian state news agency reported on Friday that the leader of the Iranian militant group Jundallah was arrested by Pakistan security authorities.
The Iranian news agency, Irna, reported confirmation by Pakistani officials of Abdul Rauf Rigi’s arrest.
However, there are few details of how he was arrested.
Earlier this week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad called President Zardari asking him to arrest and hand over “known terrorists” to Iran.
In a telephone call, the Iranian president “asked Zardari to order his country’s security forces to quickly arrest known terrorists and hand them over to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Ahmadinejad’s office said in a statement posted on its website.
The phone call followed a suicide attack last week in the southeastern Iranian city of Chabahar that killed 39 people during a Shia mourning procession. The attack was claimed by Jundallah, which Iran claims receives support from the intelligence services of Pakistan, Britain and the United States.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2010.
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