Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 25
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Pakistan has found the hiding place of the so-called Jaish-ul-Adl group which have abducted Iranian border guards, official with the Iranian foreign ministry, Mohammad Rafiei said, the country's IRIB news agency reported on Feb. 25.
Five Iranian border guards were abducted in the Jakigour region in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan Province on Feb. 6 and transferred to Pakistani territory.
Rafiei went on to say that in the next few days the problem will be resolved.
Iranian media outlets quoted the country's deputy interior minister Ali Abdollahi as saying on Feb. 21 that Iran has sent a delegation to Pakistan's Baluchistan to negotiate for the release of kidnapped soldiers.
The delegation headed by Iranian Sistan and Baluchistan Province's deputy-governor for political and security affairs, Ali Asghar Mirshekari was sent on Feb. 19 to Pakistan, Abdollahi said, adding that the delegation is negotiating for freedom of the soldiers. He did not unveil any further details about the result of the negotiations.
Footage of the kidnapped border guards were published on Feb. 15 for the first time.
In the video, the soldiers said that they are being held by the Jeish- ul-Adl and asked the Iranian government to meet the demands of the kidnappers.
On Feb. 17, Iranian media outlets quoted Iran's interior minister, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli as saying Iran held Pakistan accountable on the issue. Iranian forces will enter Pakistan, if the country does not take actions "against terrorist groups", he added.
On Feb. 24, a suicide bomber killed two Pakistani security guards outside the Iranian consulate in the city of Peshawar. The blast which occurred in the high-security University Town area of Peshawar left about 10 other injured. The Iranian Consulate building was damaged in the attack.
Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, Ali Reza Haqiqian said that Iranian citizens are not among the victims.
A group allied to the Pakistani Taliban claimed the attack, saying it would attack Shias everywhere. Sectarian violence is on the rise in Pakistan but attacks on Iranian targets are rare.