Kidnapped Iranian border guards unharmed: Official

A senior Iranian official says the country’s five border guards recently abducted and transferred to neighboring Pakistan are unharmed and in good health.

“The issue is very sensitive. The safety of these people is of great importance to us. Plans and measures must proceed in a way that their lives won’t be at risk,” Iran’s Interior Ministry spokesman Hossein Ali Amiri said on Monday.

He went on to say that officials from the Iranian Foreign Ministry have held consultations with Pakistani authorities, and Iranian Ambassador to Islamabad Alireza Haqiqian is also taking measures to secure the release of the kidnapped Iranian border guards.

The Iranian border guards were abducted in Jakigour region of Sistan and Baluchestan province on February 6 and taken to Pakistani territory.

The so-called Jaish-ul-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the abductions.

A week ago, Tehran and Islamabad held a joint border commission meeting in the Pakistani city of Quetta to discuss the abductions.

On October 25, 2013, Jaish-ul-Adl killed 14 Iranian border guards and wounded six others in the border region near the city of Saravan in Sistan and Baluchestan province.

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.