Iran calls for Pakistan's help to release kidnapped guards

Source: Xinhua| 2018-10-18 03:47:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan
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TEHRAN, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iranian foreign minister on Wednesday urged Pakistan to follow up the fate of kidnapped Iranian border guards and transferred them to Pakistani soil.

In a telephone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif stressed the need for strengthening security at common borders based on the mutual agreements, Iranian Foreign Ministry's website reported.

Zarif urged Islamabad to take immediate and serious action to ensure safety and health of the abductees.

He also called for the measures to identify and arrest those behind the incident.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi condemned the abduction of the Iranian guards and expressed deep regret over the incident.

"Pakistan will use all in its capacity to take necessary measures to identify and arrest the perpetrators and release the Iranian guards," he said.

"These terrorist groups are common enemies of the two governments and nations who seek to disrupt close and friendly relations between the two neighbors," he added.

On Tuesday, 14 Iranian border guards were kidnapped by an armed group in Mirjaveh border point in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

Sistan and Baluchestan Province, bordering Pakistan, is the locus for frequent armed clashes between the Iranian security forces and armed rebels or smugglers.

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