Iran calls for joint operation with Pakistan to secure release of abducted forces

Tehran has called on Islamabad to adhere to its commitments under bilateral security agreements days after Pakistan-based terrorists kidnapped a number of Iranian forces, emphasizing the need for a joint operation to determine their fate.

In a letter to his Pakistani counterpart, Shehryar Khan Afridi, on Wednesday, Iran’s Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli once against urged the neighboring country to spare no effort in securing the release of the abducted Iranian forces, who are reported to have been transferred to Pakistan.

Islamabad, he added, should fully honor its obligations under bilateral security agreements, under which Pakistan is required to prevent terror activities near Iran as well as attacks targeting Iranian border posts from the Pakistani side.

Earlier this week, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said terrorists had kidnapped a number of Iranian forces, including local Basij volunteer forces and border guards, overnight near the town of Mirjaveh the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan bordering Pakistan.

The IRGC did not say how many were kidnapped, but Iranian media, quoting unnamed sources, put the number of the abductees at 14.