Iran warns Pakistan after abducted soldier feared executed
Tehran (AFP) - Tehran on Wednesday issued a warning to Islamabad after reports emerged that one of five Iranian soldiers abducted and taken across the border into Pakistan by Sunni extremists had been executed.
President Hassan Rouhani in a telephone call with Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif demanded "serious and swift action" by Pakistan to secure the release of the soldiers.
"We expect to hear good news in this regard," he said, while calling for "joint action by both countries against terrorists," the official IRNA news agency reported.
For his part, Sharif said the issue was of "utmost importance" to his government and that he was "prepared to boost action to free the soldiers".
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had earlier expressed "grave concern" about the fate of Jamshid Danayifar, who was kidnapped along with four other border guards on February 6 by rebel group Jaish-ul Adl.
"We did all we could to secure their release," Zarif told state television after a cabinet meeting.
"But it is disappointing that the Pakistani government has failed to secure its borders, and allows terrorists to operate on its soil."
Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli had earlier warned -- without elaborating -- that Iran "reserves the right to utilise all its ability in its border areas."
Jaish-ul Adl said on its website on Sunday that Danayifar had been killed, warning of further executions should Tehran refuse to "release Sunni prisoners".
The rebel group, which took up arms in 2012 to fight for what it says are the rights of Iran's minority Sunni population, is active in the restive Sistan-Baluchestan province that borders both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In November it claimed responsibility for killing a local prosecutor, a month after its rebels killed 14 Iranian border guards in an ambush.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned in a Tuesday statement the reported killing as an "appalling act" and urged that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
A spokesman for the US State Department, Alan Eyre, called for the "swift release" of the abducted soldiers while expressing hope the reported execution -- that came as Iran was celebrating its Persian New Year -- was not true.
Shortly after the abduction, Iranians launched a campaign on Twitter, despite the micro-blogging service being banned in Iran.
Demanding the soldiers' release, the FreeIranianSoldiers hashtag went viral in February.
Some Iranians have used social media to hit out at the Tehran government for its inability to bring home the young soldiers, who were serving their 24-month mandatory military service.
Border guards chief Hossein Zolfaghari has admitted that there was "negligence" in the lead-up to the kidnapping, saying those responsible were suspended, with some facing prosecution.
Iran summons Pakistan envoy over border guard killing
Iran has summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to Tehran in connection with the killing of one of five Iranian border guards held hostage in Pakistan.
Noor Mohammad Jadmani turned up at Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, IRNA quoted an informed Foreign Ministry official as saying.
The Iranian official said the Pakistani ambassador was summoned as part of Iran's serious follow-up on the whereabouts of kidnapped Iranian border guards and to remind the Pakistani government of the need to take urgent action for the identification and capture of those behind the killing of an Iranian border guard and their extradition to Iran.
Last Sunday, Jaish-ul-Adl terrorist group, which abducted five Iranian border guards in February and took them to Pakistan, announced that it has killed one of the hostages.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Iranian nation expects the Pakistani government to secure the release of the Iranian border guards.
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.
It is not the first time Jaish-ul-Adl has carried out attacks against Iranian security forces.
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 Raps Pakistan for Lack of Action in Dealing with Abducted Border Guards' Case
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham voiced Tehran's deep sorrow over the execution of one of its abducted border guards by Jeish al-Adl terrorist group, and strongly condemned Islamabad's indifference to terrorist activities on its soil.
Afkham said on Tuesday that Pakistan has so far taken no serious action with regard to the case of the abducted border guards.
“Iran calls for serious and swift measures by the Pakistani government towards the arrest and extradition of terrorists (involved in the kidnapping) and (for Islamabad) to guarantee the health and (safe) return of the border guards,” Afkham added.
She said Pakistan’s refusal to adopt measures against provocations that jeopardize friendly ties between the two Muslim neighboring countries violate the code of good neighborly conduct.
“Iranian officials have repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction with and concern about acts of terror in border regions and the Islamic Republic of Iran has stressed the need for necessary measure by Pakistan to prevent terrorists from crossing and using Pakistani territory,” the Iranian spokesperson pointed out.