Unidentified gunmen have killed nine and injured three other Pakistani citizens in Iran, say media reports.
Iranian news outlets reported nine “foreigners” were killed in an armed attack in the country’s southeastern region near the border with Pakistan.
The incident came a day after diplomatic ties between Tehran and Islamabad returned to normal following tensions over a exchange of strikes.
Two of the victims were labourers from Pakistan’s Lodhran area and five, including two brothers, belonged to the Muzaffargarh district of Punjab province.
Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani voiced deep shock over the gun attack, which he viewed as an attempt at spoiling relations between the two neighbours.
Asking the Iranian government to bring the elements responsible for the attack to justice, the minister extended condolences to the victims’ families.
In a post on X, Pakistani Ambassador to Iran Muhammad Muddasir Tipu confirmed the shooting of the nine Pakistanis
The gun attack happened in the city of Saravan, which is located in Sistan-Baluchistan, wrote the ambassador, who returned to Tehran on Friday.
He added: “Deeply shocked by [the] horrifying killing of 9 Pakistanis in Saravan. [The] Embassy will extend full support to bereaved families.”
In Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch condemned the “horrifying and despicable”.
“Such cowardly attacks cannot deter Pakistan from its determination to fight terrorism,” the spokeswoman said, adding Ian had been asked to investigate the attack.
Pakistan and Iran had shortly halted diplomatic ties, recalling their envoys, after an exchange of military strikes on what they called terrorist hideouts.
On Friday, however, the ambassadors returned to their jobs in Islamabad and Tehran. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is due to arrive in Islamabad today.
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