Border guard abductions strain Pakistani-Iranian relations
Author:Farhan Bokhari, Islamabad
Last posted:2014-02-19
Relations between Pakistan and Iran sunk to a rare low on 17 February when Iran's interior minister, Abdol Reza Rahmani-Fazi, threatened to send troops across the border into Pakistan to recover five kidnapped Iranian border guards.
The guards were abducted on 6 February from the Iranian province of Baluchistan-Sistan, which adjoins the Pakistani border, with Iranian officials saying the kidnappers were hardline Sunni muslim militants who had taken the guards across the border to Pakistan.
On 18 February Pakistan's foreign ministry expressed "serious concern" over the Iranian minister's statement and said the country's security forces had "combed the entire region but could not verify the entry or presence of these Iranian border guards on its territory".
The ministry added that it was possible the kidnappers, along with the five guards, were still hiding inside Iranian territory.
On 14 February the Middle East-based Al-Arabiya TV channel broadcast a message from an individual described by the network as Sergeant Jamshyd Danaifard, one of the kidnapped guards, who said the five men were "safe and sound". In the message Sgt Danaifard said that Jaish al-Adl, a militant Sunni muslim group holding the men, wanted them exchanged for 300 Sunni muslim men held in Iran and Syria, which is a close ally of Iran.
In October 2013 14 Iranian border guards were killed and three others kidnapped near the Pakistani border, with Iranian officials stating at the time that unnamed 'bandits' were responsible. After that event Iranian judges ordered the execution of 16 men described by Iranian officials as terrorists.
Pakistani officials have historically described the border with Iran as relatively stable compared to the country's more volatile frontiers with Afghanistan and India. However, the majority of Iran's population are Shia muslims, while the majority of Pakistanis are Sunni muslims. Rivalry between followers of the two sects has caused bitter divisions between and among many countries, including Pakistan.
ANALYSIS
The threat from Iran's interior minister came on the day when Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, was visiting Pakistan in a widely publicised visit. it is reported that Saudi Arabia is in discussions with Pakistan for the latter to sell its JF-17 Thunder fighter and Al-Khalid main battle tank to the desert kingdom. In return Saudi Arabia is seeking Pakistani troops to support its land forces. "The Iranian threat coming on the day of the Saudi visit to Pakistan is very telling. Unless proven otherwise, maybe the Iranians are publicly displaying their anger with Pakistan," one Western official in Islamabad said.
JDW