"As the interior minister and the person responsible for the country’s internal
security, I announce that we are prepared to conduct operations in areas where
terrorists are present in Pakistan, under the Pakistani side’s supervision and
with their permission,” Interior Minister Abdol-Reza Rahmani-Fazli said on
Saturday.
Fazli said such operations would take place "if the need arises, and they (the
Pakistani side) would not possess the readiness to operate for any reason.”
"If we have refused to operate on the other side of the border so far, it has
been merely because we wanted to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty,” the minister
said.
Rahmani-Fazli said the countries could carry out joint border operations, and
enjoy much intelligence cooperation.
He said efforts invested so far by Iranian security and law enforcement
organizations, and especially the country’s Foreign Ministry, had led to the
release of five Iranian forces, who were kidnapped by terrorists near the
Pakistani border alongside seven others last month.
The country was pursuing the release of the rest, he said, adding that Pakistan
had offered good cooperation over the release of abducted Iranian border guards.
"We expect Pakistan to complement the cooperation and also to enhance security
cooperation in border areas,” Rahmani-Fazli noted.
The forces were abducted in mid-October by elements of the so-called Jaish
ul-Adl terrorist group near the town of Mirjaveh in the southeastern Iranian
province of Sistan and Baluchestan, and then spirited away into Pakistan.
Iranian border guards have repeatedly come under attack by terror outfits active
on the Pakistani soil.
Last April, 11 of the border guards were killed in an ambush claimed by Jaish
ul-Adl near Mirjaveh. The assailants escaped into Pakistan immediately after the
attack.
Source:PressTV