ISLAMABAD - Pakistan will fence border with Iran after the Ormara bloodshed, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Saturday.
Speaking at a news conference here, the minister said that joint border centres will be formed for check and balance along the frontier. “Pakistan wants to know who is behind the Ormara incident that killed 14 passengers after offloading them from the bus,” he added.
He categorically said that no military operation will be carried out in Balochistan. He said the government will take steps that heal the wounds of the local people and address their sense of deprivation.
On April 18, 14 passengers were shot dead at Makran Coastal Highway after forcing them to disembark from buses. Police said about 15-20 masked men intercepted six buses on the highway, offloaded passengers, tied their hands and opened fire at them.
Balochistan police said it was an act of "targeted killing". The victims were identified via their identity cards, a police official said.
Also on Saturday, the foreign ministry forwarded a letter of protest to the Iranian embassy in Islamabad and demanded to take action against the terrorists.
"15-20 terrorists who camouflaged themselves in Frontier Corps uniform barricaded the road and stopped 3-4 buses travelling from Ormara to Gwadar on the coastal highway at Buzi Top at the dawn of April 18 and on the identification of the passengers, shot dead 14 personnel of the armed forces of Pakistan. Baloch Raaji-Aajohi e-Sanga(BRAS) which is the alliance of three Baloch terrorist organisations have claimed responsibility for this terrorist act," the letter stated.
"After the incident, the terrorists who arrived from border region returned to that area," it added.
The letter further read: "The information about the hubs of these Baloch terrorist organisations in Iran, having training camps and logistics bases across the border, was shared with Iranian intelligence in the recent past, and on a number of occasions earlier." In his presser, Qureshi said border fencing between Pakistan
and Iran would prevent terror attacks in future.
The FM said that one coast guard, 10 soldiers of Pakistan Navy and three from Pakistan Air Force were among those killed. The members of Baloch Raaji-Aajohi e-Sangar, who were in guise of Frontier Corps, claimed responsibility of the attack, he added.
Qureshi said a detailed conversation on the incident was also held with Iranian Foreign Minister while Prime Minister Imran Khan is due to visit the neighboring country today (April 21) for further briefing regarding the incident.
Iran has been informed about the forensic evidence and camps of BRAS in the area, he added.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also strongly condemned the attack and said, “Terrorists, extremists and their sponsors are terrified by close relations between Muslim states.”
Iran stands with the people and government of Pakistan, he added.
Qureshi pointed out that Pakistan had already taken steps to make the border with Iran peaceful. He said the steps included establishment of new Southern Command and new Frontier Corps.
The Foreign Minister said both Pakistan and Iran have also agreed to establish joint border centres to foil the nefarious designs of undesirable elements. “Besides fencing of the border, we will also synchronize border patrolling and exercises to better manage the border,” he said.
The Foreign Minister said that Pakistan-Iran relations had improved significantly and there could be spoilers to hurt this relationship through evil plots.
The Foreign Minister did not rule out the possibility of involvement of India in the recent terror attacks in Balochistan. He said under a planned conspiracy, insurgency is being fanned in Balochistan.
About talks with India, the Foreign Minister said sanity demands that both Pakistan and India resolve their outstanding disputes through negotiations.
The Foreign Minister also expressed concerns over increased human rights violations in occupied Kashmir.
