Iranian President declares joint border force with Pakistan

  22 April 2019    Read: 1536
Iranian President declares joint border force with Pakistan

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Iran on 21 April on a state visit to discuss security and regional issues, according to Iranian state TV.

Iran and Pakistan will form a joint "reaction force" on the border between the two countries, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has stated as cited by AFP.

"We agreed to create a joint rapid reaction force at the borders for combatting terrorism", Rouhani was quoted as saying, following months of intensified relations between the two countries over attacks on both sides of the border.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is on an official working visit to Iran on 21-22 April at Rouhani's invitation.

Khan is also scheduled to hold talks with members of the Iranian and Pakistani business communities. The decision to create a joint "reaction force" was announced after the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistani Ambassador to the Islamic Republic Riffat Masood in order to lodge a protest over the terror attack in February.

Previously, IRGC chief Mohammad Ali Jafari accused Pakistan of reportedly backing jihadists who wage terror in his country, urging Islamabad to tighten its policy towards the Sunni Jaish ul-Adl terrorist group.

Tehran also asked Islamabad to take urgent measures to find and detain terrorists operating in the area near the site of the attack.

Iranian media reported in February that an individual in an explosive-laden vehicle targeted a bus carrying a number of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel in Sistan and Baluchistan Province in southeastern Iran. According to the reports, 27 people were killed and 13 more injured by the attack. The Jaish ul-Adl extremist group, linked to the al-Qaeda terror organisation (banned in Russia), has claimed responsibility for the attack.


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