Top Iranian Military Commander calls Pakistan Army Chief on abducted guards

Iran’s top military commander Maj Gen Mohammad Hossein Bagheri on Saturday phoned Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and urged him to intensify efforts for search and rescue of kidnapped Iranian border guards.

In his conversation, Gen Bagheri asked Gen Bajwa to take “decisive and urgent” steps for the recovery of the abducted guards, according to Iranian media. In this regard he referred to an agreement between the militaries of the two countries for ensuring normality along the Pak-Iran border.
Twelve Iranian guards were kidnapped by militants on Tuesday from a post in Mirjaveh region close to the border. Jaish al-Adl, a terrorist group operating in the region, had claimed responsibility for their kidnapping.
Iranian leaders believe the militants moved the guards to Pakistan after taking them hostage.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had on Wednesday called his Pakistani counterpart and had requested for early recovery of the guards.
The heads of military operations of the two armies have been coordinating the search effort. Air surveillance has been stepped up and additional troops have been deployed near the area where the incident took place.
The Iranian commander further asked Gen Bajwa to enhance troop presence along the border to ensure normality and prevent illegal crossing of the frontier.
The Iranian media quoted Gen Bajwa as having expressed the hope that efforts made by Pakistani law enforcement agencies would soon lead to the recovery of the hostages.