‘Pakistan is saddened over killing of Iranian border guard’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is deeply saddened over the reported killing of one of the five Iranian border guards, abducted in the Sistan-Balochistan province of Iran last month, said a statement issued by the Foreign Office on Wednesday.

“We condemn this terrorist act, and share the grief and agony of the families of the martyr and the other border guards,” said the statement.

It noted; “In the wake of the border incident, the government of Pakistan has extended all possible support in tracking the whereabouts of the missing Iranian border guards. During the last meeting of the Joint Border Commission in Quetta on February 19-20, 2014, a Border Coordination Committee was also established to assist with the effort”

“The Government of Pakistan stands ready to act on any credible and actionable intelligence made available to it. However, our investigations have neither corroborated nor established the entry into or presence within Pakistani territory of the Iranian border guards.

Pakistan deeply values its brotherly relations with Iran. The two countries are engaged in a number of bilateral processes to forge a closer and cooperative relationship for the common benefit of the people of our two countries,” the Foreign Office said.