Iran forms committee to free guards

Iran has established a special committee to work for the release of Iranian border guards held hostage by Jaish-ul-Adl terrorist group, says an Iranian official.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Pacific Affairs Ebrahim Rahimpour said on Friday that following the alleged execution of one of the guards, the Iranian Foreign Ministry established a committee to pursue the case and release the guards.

The Iranian official also stated that the Foreign Ministry has been seriously carrying out its professional duties ever since the border guards were kidnapped last month, and is following up the case through various channels.

Rahimpour said the Iranian Foreign Ministry will hold several meetings on the issue of the abducted guards in the next few days.

Tehran will contact Pakistani officials as well as international organizations, namely the UN Security Council, as part of its efforts to free the kidnapped guards, he added.

On March 23, Jaish-ul-Adl, which abducted five Iranian border guards in Jakigour region in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province on February 6 and transferred them to the Pakistani territory, announced that it has killed one of the hostages.

Iran later summoned Pakistan’s Ambassador to Tehran Noor Mohammad Jadmani in connection with the killing.

On October 25, 2013, the terrorist group killed 14 Iranian border guards and wounded six others in the border region near the city of Saravan in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

Iran and Pakistan signed a security agreement in February 2013, 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 commit to the terms of the agreement.