Baloch separatists kill 8 Pakistanis in Iran

Islamabad: Eight Pakistani car mechanics were shot in Iran late on Saturday night, expressing displeasure and deepening the fear that the country was becoming a center for anti -Pakistan terrorists after Afghanistan.
Balochistan National Army (BNA), a low-centenary separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack in the Siston-Baluchistan province, as the tension between the neighboring countries, Pakistan demanded rapid action. Pakistani officials said that eight workers had come from Punjab – the most populous province of Pakistan – and were killed in a workshop in Mehristan district near the border of Afghanistan.
The BNA implicated murders as vengeance against the alleged Punjabi dominance in the economic and political regions of Balochistan. BNA said in an online statement, “We will not allow outsiders to take advantage of our land and resources.” The organization has aligned itself with a broad Baloch rebellion led by groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
Pakistan PM Shahbaz Sharif called the attack “barbaric”. “We demand that the criminals be brought for fast justice,” he said, urged Tehran to act. Sharif ordered the Ministry of External Affairs to help the families of the victims and bring back the bodies. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar issued a similar condemnation. “This attack challenges our sovereignty. We cannot allow our citizens to be targeted abroad,” Dar said.
Iran’s response was measured but clearly unclear. Ambassador Raza Amiri Mogadam condemned the murders as “inhuman and cowardice”, calling terrorism a “old plight” that demands regional cooperation. Nevertheless, Tehran did not give any concrete assurance of breaking up on groups such as BNA, inspiring skepticism in Islamabad.
Thousands travel regularly to Iran to take informal jobs in areas such as vehicle repairing, construction and agriculture from Pakistan, especially economically deprived areas.
In January 2024, nine Pakistani laborers were killed and three were seriously injured, which were also located in a similar attack in Sarvancity, in the South -East Border area of ​​Iran. Like the latest murders, the victims in that case worked in an automobile repair shop. These murders took place at a time when Pakistan and Iran were trying to repair diplomatic relations after Tight-for-Tat missiles and drone attacks.