Pakistan denies involvement in Iran terrorist attack

Amid accusations of having played a role in a deadly terrorist explosion in southeast Iran, Pakistan moves to dismiss any involvement in the terrorist attack.

“Pakistan is not involved in terrorist activities … we are striving to eradicate this menace,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abdul Basit told the Daily Times newspaper on Sunday.

The blast, during a unity conference between Sunni and Shia tribal leaders in the borderline city of Pishin in Sistan-Baluchistan on Sunday, killed at least 42 people, including high-ranking commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reacted to the deadly attack and urged Islamabad not to waste time in cooperating with Iran in apprehending the perpetrators and eradicating the Pakistan-based terrorist group Jundallah, led by Abdolmalik Rigi, which has taken responsibility for the bombing.

“We have heard that certain security officials in Pakistan are cooperating with main agents of these terrorist attacks in eastern parts of the country. We regard it as our right to demand these criminals from them,” Ahmadinejad said after a Cabinet session on Sunday night.

“Those who carry out such brutal attacks are unhappy with boosting confidence and coherence among Iranian officials and people.”

Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the “ghastly act of terrorism” in Iran, his office said.

Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires to protest against the terrorists’ use of Pakistani soil to conduct activities against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Pakistan-based Jundallah has staged a torrent of bombings and terrorist attacks in Iran, one of which left at least 25 Iranians dead in early June. Jundallah militants are believed to be closely affiliated with the notorious al-Qaeda organization.

A 2007 Sunday Telegraph report revealed that the CIA created Jundallah to achieve ‘regime change in Iran’, and said the US intelligence agency was trying to destabilize Iran by ‘supplying arms-length support’ and ‘money and weapons’ to the group.

Another report posted by ABC also revealed that the US officials had ordered Jundallah to ‘stage deadly guerrilla raids inside the Islamic Republic, kidnap Iranian officials and execute them on camera’, all as part of a ‘programmatic objective to overthrow the Iranian government’.

In a recent interview with Press TV, Rigi’s brother Abdulhamid also confirmed that the Jundallah leader had established links with the US agents.

His brother said that in just one of his meetings with the US operatives, Rigi had received $100,000 to fuel sectarianism in Iran.