Pakistan seeks Iran’s intelligence co-op to tackle thugs

Baku, Azerbaijan, April 11

By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:

Governor General of Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan Province Ali Owsat Hashemi has said that the Pakistani government is seeking Iran's intelligence cooperation to tackle terrorist groups inside Pakistan.

The official said that during his trip along with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to Pakistan earlier the week, security issues on the joint border were on the top of agenda, Fars news agency reported April 11.

A joint security committee will be launched next week in order to coordinate a common position between Iran and Pakistan aimed at strengthening security levels over the border, he said.

Hashemi pointed out that during the Iranian delegation's trip to Islamabad, Pakistani Chief of Army General Raheel Sharif said Pakistan is fully ready to cooperation with Iran on fighting criminals.

The Iran-Pakistan border has grown in insecurity in the past several years. Several attacks by thugs and terrorist groups cause heavy casualties on the Iranian side every year.

Iran's Border Guard Chief of Police Qasem Rezaee said April 8 that Iranian forces engaged in over 70 battles with insurgents attacking from the Pakistani soil during past year alone.

He said that there are over 80 criminal groups in the neighbor country which every once in a while attack the Iranian border.

The official criticized Islamabad for its loose security measures which, by allowing terrorists free rein, lead to death tolls and heavy readiness costs for Iranian security forces.

Rezaee's statements followed an incident during which eight Iranian border guards were killed in the attack which took place in the country's southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan on April 6 night.