Pakistan to fence 950km of common border with Iran

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan’s administration plans to fence 950km of its common border with Iran following a recent deadly attack on Iranian forces by terrorists based in Pakistan.

Iran has been outraged by attacks emanating from Pakistan’s side of the border that have targeted its border security forces in recent years, Gulf News reported.

On February 13, a bus carrying Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps personnel was traveling between the cities of Zahedan and Khash, in Sistan-baluchestan Province was targeted by a suicide car bomb attack.

Twenty-seven IRGC members were killed and 13 others injured in the attack, claimed by the so-called Jaish ul-adl terrorist group based in Pakistan.

Following the terrorist attack, Tehran urged Islamabad to step up surveillance along the border.

In order to address the Iranian government’s concerns, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi immediately sent a high-level delegation to Tehran to assure the Islamic republic of a thorough investigation and all-out cooperation in hunting down the culprits.

Pakistan is keen to address the issue, particularly at a time when India and Afghanistan are blaming it for orchestrating attacks against them. Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor and director general of Interservices Public Relation said Pakistan and Iran were considering fencing the common border. He made the remarks while talking to journalists on Friday after a press conference on the Pulwama attack.

“We both are considering fencing the border so that no third party [terrorist] could sabotage the brotherly and friendly relations through any nefarious act,” Ghafoor said.

Iran has so far detained eight suspects in connection with the recent terrorist attack.

Iran has repeatedly blamed Pakistan for sheltering terrorists connected with attacks in the border area.

IRGC’S Lieutenant Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami said on Friday the country will definitely avenge the recent terrorist attack, but the revenge will not be limited to “a bunch of terrorists,” IRNA reported.

“We cannot disclose the way in which we will respond to the terrorists, but no act will go unanswered,” he said.

“The scale of Iran’s revenge is not limited to clashes with four terrorists. Rather, we will track the terrorists and find whom they are linked to,” the top general said.

“Our responses are strong, and those who receive it will get familiar with them,” General Salami warned.