LONDON: Head of Iranian armed forces has warned Islamabad that Tehran would hit bases inside Pakistan if its government does not confront Sunni militants who carry out cross-border attacks. Iran said Sunni militant group Jaish al Adl had shot border guards with long-range guns, fired from inside Pakistan.
Major General Mohammad Baqeri said, “We cannot accept the continuation of this situation. We expect the Pakistani officials to control the borders, arrest the terrorists and shut down their bases. If the terrorist attacks continue, we will hit their safe havens and cells, wherever they are.” Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Pak last week, and asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to improve the border security. Pak assured Iran it would deploy additional troops along its border.
Just last month, 10 Iranian border guards were killed by Sunni militants. In 2014, Iran had warned it would send troops to Pak to retrieve five Iranian border guards kidnapped by militants. Pak responded by saying such an action would be violation of the international law and warned Iranian forces not to cross the border. Iran refrained from sending its troops when a local Sunni cleric stepped in and resolved the situation.
