Jeish al-Adl Terrorist Group Denies Freedom of Iranian Border Guards
TEHRAN (FNA)- Jeish al-Adl rejected the Saturday media reports claiming that the Pakistani forces have released the five Iranian border guards who were abducted by the terrorist group along Iran-Pakistan border on February 6 .
The terrorist group released a post on its Tweeter page, dismissing Pakistani media reports that the Iranian border guards were freed by the Pakistani security forces today.
It also claimed that the Iranian soldiers are being kept in Jeish al-Adl’s bases in Pakistan and the group is still waiting for the Iranian government’s response to its demands.
The group said that the freedom of the Iranian border guards will be decided by Jeish al-Adl’s “religious court”.
Earlier today, Spokesman of the Pakistani border guards Khan Vasi was quoted by Pakistan’s Donya news daily as saying that “eleven foreign nationals kidnapped by the terrorists were released today in operations conducted by the security forces in Torbat region in (Pakistan’s) Balouchistan province”.
Later, the newspaper reported in an urgent news that the Iranian border guards are among the freed foreign nationals.
Five Iranian border guards were abducted in Jakigour region of Iran’s Sistan-and Balouchestan Province on February 6 and taken to Pakistani territory.
The so-called Jeish al-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the abductions.
Earlier this month, the terrorist Jeish al-Adl group set several conditions for releasing the five Iranian soldiers in a statement on its website. The group has called on Iran to release 50 of its arrested members, 200 Sunni prisoners and 50 female militants imprisoned in Syria in a swap deal with the five border guards.
The outlawed terrorist group Jeish al-Adl released a photo of the kidnapped border guards on its Tweeter page and claimed the responsibility for their abduction on February 8. Earlier reports had said that the abducted soldiers had been transferred to Pakistan which has a long border with Iran in the Southeastern parts of the country.
On February 11, Iran called on Pakistani officials to arrest and extradite the members of the terrorist Jeish al-Adl group who are responsible for the recent abduction of the five Iranian border guards.
“Unfortunately, we are witnessing the abduction of 5 Iranian border guards by the terrorist groups,” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said in her weekly press conference in Tehran at the time.
Afkham elaborated on the measures taken by Iran in pursuit of the fate of the 5 border guards, and said Tehran's officials have made visits to Pakistan, summoned Islamabad’s ambassador to Tehran to the foreign ministry and called for the country’s serious acts to control the border regions.
“We also want them to identify the abductors of the border guards and extradite them to the Iranian officials and we are ready to cooperate with Pakistan to establish security at the borders and fight outlawed and terrorist groups in Pakistan,” she underlined.
On February 9, Iran’s police chief voiced concern over the presence of terrorist groups in Pakistan's territories, and underlined that Iran's police along with the Foreign Ministry are resolved to do their best to clear the fate of the five Iranian guards abducted at the Iran-Pakistan border.
Ahmadi Moqaddam criticized the performance of the Pakistani government and its border police in the joint border region.
He then asked how it is possible that certain elements ambush the Iranian guards, kidnap them, take them to Pakistan and release some photos of them.
The Islamic Republic has asked Interpol to prosecute those behind the abduction.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for an investigation into the incident, tasking the Foreign Ministry with taking the necessary measures to implement a border security agreement with Pakistan.
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.
On February 15, Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli held Pakistan accountable for the kidnapping of the five Iranian border guards.
Senior MP: Freedom of Abducted Iranian Border Guards Not Confirmed
TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior lawmaker said he cannot confirm media reports about the release of the five Iranian border guards who have been abducted by Jeish al-Adl terrorist group, but underlined that the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission is pursuing their fate, including the recent developments.
Some contradictory reports have been released about the freedom of the five soldiers today.
Pakistan's Donya news daily quoted Spokesman of the Pakistani border guards Khan Vasi as saying earlier today that “eleven foreign nationals kidnapped by the terrorists were released today in operations conducted by the security forces in Torbat region in (Pakistan’s) Balouchistan province”.
Later, the newspaper reported in an urgent news that the Iranian border guards were among the freed foreign nationals.
But Jeish al-Adl rushed to reject the report in a post on its Tweeter page, stressing that "the Iranian soldiers are being kept in Jeish al-Adl’s bases in Pakistan", and that it "is still waiting for the Iranian government’s response to its demands".
Following the revelations, head of the Defense Committee of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Esmayeel Kosari told FNA that “we do not confirm the release of the five abducted Iranian border guards”.
Yet, he assured that the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission is investigating the issue.
A representative of Sistan and Balouchestan province at the Iranian parliament also told FNA that the revelation has just been made by the media and "we cannot confirm the news as long as the Pakistani government has not made such an announcement".
But Governor-General of the province Ali Owsat Hashemi said "early reports indicate the freedom of the five Iranian border guards".
Owsat said the Pakistani government has not yet made an official announcement to Iran in this regard, "but they have not rejected the report, and have rather told us that they have good news for us".
FNA bureau in Islamabad said that the Pakistani border guards have only arrested 11 militia members of Jeish al-Adl terrorist group near the borders with Iran.
Also, Iranian Ambassador to Islamabad Alireza Haqiqian told FNA that “no official Pakistani source has yet confirmed the freedom of the border guards”.
Meantime, two other lawmakers, Hossein Ali Shahriyari and Yaqoub Jadgal, did not also confirm the freedom of the Iranian border guards.
The five Iranian border guards were abducted by Jeish al-Adl terrorist group in Jakigour region of Iran’s Sistan-and Balouchestan Province on February 6 and taken to Pakistan's territory.
Security officials rescue 11 foreign hostages in Turbat, miss out on Iranian soldiers
QUETTA: Officials on Saturday said they had rescued 11 kidnapped foreigners including eight Iranians, two Tunisians and one Yemeni national – in Turbat, Balochistan.
The security officials told AFP that those freed did not include a group of Iranian border guards believed to have been kidnapped earlier in February, sparking diplomatic tensions.
A security official told AFP, “Eleven foreigners were rescued in a raid in a neighbourhood of Turbat town.”
The raid had been conducted in an attempt to rescue five Iranian border guards who were kidnapped on February 5 from Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province, officials said.
But the freed hostages were not thought to be the guards but believed to be connected to a drug cartels operating in the province and to have been held hostage by them, officials said.
Diplomatic ties between Iran and Pakistan touched a fresh low last week over fate of the kidnapped border guards, when the Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli reportedly threatened Pakistan that Tehran may send forces into Pakistan to free them.
Sistan-Baluchestan province has been the scene of unrest in recent years.
An insurgent group calling itself Jaishul Adl, or “Army of Justice”, has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. The group had posted pictures on its Facebook page it said were of the soldiers, handcuffed and being held in an unknown location.