Commander: Police Working Hard to Secure Release of Abducted Iranian Border Guards

Iran’s Police Chief Brigadier General Esmayeel Ahmadi Moqaddam underlined Tehran’s firm stance against terrorism, and said his forces are doing their best to set free the five border guards abducted along the Iran-Pakistan border on February 6.
“We are making efforts to secure the freedom of the kidnapped border guards through cooperation among the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the police force, the Intelligence Ministry and the diplomatic apparatus,” General Ahmadi Moqaddam said in the Southeastern Iranian city of Iranshahr in Sistan and Balouchestan province.

He added that the Islamabad government has also pledged to provide the necessary cooperation for the release of the border guards and restrict the activities of terrorists groups on Pakistani soil.

Also on Thursday, a senior Iranian legislator confirmed that the five border guards abducted along Iran-Pakistan border on February 6 are safe and sound.

“We are completely sure about the good health condition of the five Iranian border guards until now,” rapporteur of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Seyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini said.

He underlined that no negotiations have been made with the hostage-takers either directly or through intermediaries.

Five Iranian border guards were abducted in Jakigour region of Iran’s Sistan-and Balouchestan Province on February 6 and taken to Pakistani territory.

The so-called Jeish al-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the abductions.

Earlier this month, the terrorist Jeish al-Adl group set several conditions for releasing the five Iranian soldiers in a statement on its website. The group has called on Iran to release 50 of its arrested members, 200 Sunni prisoners and 50 female militants imprisoned in Syria in a swap deal with the five border guards.

The outlawed terrorist group Jeish al-Adl released a photo of the kidnapped border guards on its Tweeter page and claimed the responsibility for their abduction on February 8. Earlier reports had said that the abducted soldiers had been transferred to Pakistan which has a long border with Iran in the Southeastern parts of the country.

On February 11, Iran called on Pakistani officials to arrest and extradite the members of the terrorist Jeish al-Adl group who are responsible for the recent abduction of the five Iranian border guards.

“Unfortunately, we are witnessing the abduction of 5 Iranian border guards by the terrorist groups,” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said in her weekly press conference in Tehran at the time.

Afkham elaborated on the measures taken by Iran in pursuit of the fate of the 5 border guards, and said Tehran’s officials have made visits to Pakistan, summoned Islamabad’s ambassador to Tehran to the foreign ministry and called for the country’s serious acts to control the border regions.

“We also want them to identify the abductors of the border guards and extradite them to the Iranian officials and we are ready to cooperate with Pakistan to establish security at the borders and fight outlawed and terrorist groups in Pakistan,” she underlined.

On February 9, Iran’s police chief voiced concern over the presence of terrorist groups in Pakistan’s territories, and underlined that Iran’s police along with the Foreign Ministry are resolved to do their best to clear the fate of the five Iranian guards abducted at the Iran-Pakistan border.

Ahmadi Moqaddam criticized the performance of the Pakistani government and its border police in the joint border region.

He then asked how it is possible that certain elements ambush the Iranian guards, kidnap them, take them to Pakistan and release some photos of them.

The Islamic Republic has asked Interpol to prosecute those behind the abduction.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for an investigation into the incident, tasking the Foreign Ministry with taking the necessary measures to implement a border security agreement with Pakistan.

In February 2013, Iran and Pakistan signed a security agreement, under which both countries are required to cooperate in preventing and combating organized crime, fighting terrorism and countering the activities that pose a threat to the national security of either country.

Iran has repeatedly called on Pakistan to comply with the terms of the agreement.

On February 15, Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli held Pakistan accountable for the kidnapping of the five Iranian border guards.