ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Sunday it hoped for full Iranian cooperation to investigate the killing of eight of its nationals in Sistan-Baluchistan province and was working to ensure the prompt repatriation of the victims’ bodies.
The news of the killings emerged in Pakistani media on Saturday evening, though the federal authorities initially remained silent.
Later at night, the foreign office confirmed the development in response to media queries, saying its officials were in contact with Iranian authorities and would comment once details were confirmed.
Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the attack, which was claimed by a Baloch separatist group, and voiced concern that the incident had occurred on Iranian soil.
“Eight Pakistani nationals were tragically killed yesterday in Mehrestan County, Sistan-Baluchistan province, located approximately 230 kilometers from the Pakistan-Iran border,” the foreign office said in a statement. “Our Mission has already requested consular access to verify their identities.”
“Pakistan strongly condemns the inhumane and cowardly killing of its nationals in Iran,” it continued. “We hope for Iranian side’s full cooperation in investigating the matter and timely repatriation of victims’ remains.”
The foreign office said the country’s embassy in Tehran and consulate in Zahedan were in constant touch with Iranian authorities to ensure a comprehensive investigation and swift transfer of the bodies.
A day earlier, Afghanistan’s Khaama Press News Agency reported the victims were all auto mechanics.
Thousands of Pakistanis, mostly from underprivileged backgrounds, regularly cross into Iran for informal work in industries such as auto repair, agriculture and construction.
The Balochistan National Army (BNA), a separatist group from Pakistan’s southwestern region, claimed responsibility for the killings, alleging that the victims were affiliated with Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency.
Balochistan, a resource-rich but restive province of Pakistan bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has witnessed a low-level insurgency for nearly two decades.
Baloch militant groups accuse the central government of exploiting local resources while neglecting the population. Islamabad denies the allegations and says it is committed to regional development.
On Saturday night, the Pakistani premier called on the Iranian government to investigate the attack thoroughly and publicly share its findings.
“Terrorism is a scourge that is devastating for all countries in the region,” he said, urging regional states to adopt a coordinated strategy to root out militancy.
The Iranian embassy in Islamabad also condemned the killings earlier today and emphasized the need for joint efforts to combat terrorism.
“Combating this ominous phenomenon requires collective and joint efforts by all countries to eradicate all forms of terrorism and extremism that have claimed the lives of thousands of innocent people in recent decades,” it said.
The incident echoes a similar attack in January 2023, when nine Pakistani laborers were killed and three others critically injured in Saravan, another city in Iran’s southeastern region. Those victims were also reportedly employed at an auto repair shop.
That attack had taken place at a time when Pakistan and Iran were seeking to normalize ties following tit-for-tat missile and drone strikes.

CAIRO: A Palestinian Red Crescent staff member who went missing in late March when 15 humanitarian workers were killed by Israeli fire is being detained by Israeli authorities, the rescue service and the Red Cross said on Sunday.
Hisham Mhana, the spokesperson for the ICRC in Gaza, confirmed to Reuters that it had received information that the Palestine Red Crescent Society paramedic Assad Al-Nsasrah was being held in an Israeli place of detention.
“As per standard practice, we informed the families immediately. In this case, we also informed the Palestine Red Crescent Society as they have special standing as a partner of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement,” he said.
The Israeli army did not immediately comment.
Mhana said the ICRC has not been granted access to Nsasrah, who until Sunday had been declared missing, and also has not been able to visit any of the Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli jails since October 7, 2023.
In a post on X, The PRCS demanded the immediate release of Nsasrah, who it said was “forcibly abducted” while carrying out humanitarian duties.
It added that Nsasrah and his colleagues came under heavy gunfire, which led to the killing of eight of them in a “grave violation” of international humanitarian law.
The bodies of 15 emergency and aid workers from the Red Crescent, the Civil Emergency Service and the UN were found buried in a mass grave in southern Gaza in March.
The UN and the Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of killing them after they were dispatched to respond to reports of injuries from Israeli airstrikes.
The Israeli military referred Reuters to its statement from Monday, in which it said that a thorough inquiry into the incident was still underway and that it would provide further details only once the investigation is complete.
It said that a preliminary inquiry indicated that “the troops opened fire due to a perceived threat following a previous encounter in the area, and that six of the individuals killed in the incident were identified as Hamas terrorists.”
The Israeli military has provided no evidence of how it determined that the six were Hamas militants, and the Islamist faction has rejected the accusation.
The only known survivor of the incident, PRCS paramedic Munther Abed, said soldiers had opened fire on clearly marked emergency response vehicles.