Islamabad: Tehran ramped up pressure on Islamabad on Friday to crack down on Jundallah, an Iranian terrorist group alleged to be operating from Pakistan, and hand over its leader Abdolmalek Rigi, claiming that Iran had documentary evidence of his travel to and from Pakistan.Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, who arrived here on Friday at the head of a security delegation and with a clear demand from Tehran for cooperation against Jundallah, met his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik to discuss ways for jointly fighting the terror group.
‘We have documents that show Rigi travels readily to Pakistan…we are here to ask Pakistan to hand over Rigi to Iran,’ Mr Najjar said in a statement.
Not much was revealed by either side about the outcome of the talks focussed on Jundallah -- an issue that has strained ties between the two countries after the weekend attack on the Revolutionary Guards in Sistan-Baluchestan province. Insiders said the Pakistani side had reiterated its desire to help Iran in the wake of the terror strike.
However, it was made clear that the government could do little because of its limitations and its security forces having been overstretched by the operation in South Waziristan.
The only help Mr Malik could offer was increased intelligence sharing and intensified border patrol.
‘Pakistan is committed to eliminating terrorism and it is imperative that Pakistan and Iran work in harmony for peace in the region,’ he said.
Mr Najjar was reportedly very categorical at the meeting, telling Mr Malik that a row over Rigi was ‘not in the interest of the two countries’ good neighbourly relations’.
According to sources, Iran proposed coordinated operations in the border areas to eliminate the group. But Pakistan did not appear to be amenable to the proposal.
The Pakistani side insisted that Rigi was not in Pakistan and Jundallah operated in a ‘triangle region’ straddling Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, making it harder to act against the group which had its bases in Afghanistan.
The 1,000kms stretch between Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan is a rough terrain, making patrolling extremely difficult. It is frequently used by drugs and weapons smugglers.
The Pakistani side decried Iran’s allegations and the harsh language used against it after the deadly attack, which killed top commanders of the Revolutionary Guards.
Mr Malik asked Mr Najjar to provide timely information to Islamabad about the activities of the group.
An official told Dawn that Tehran did not hand over any evidence of Rigi’s presence in Pakistan.
Mr Najjar is expected to meet Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday to press Iran’s demand for action against the group.
Diplomatic sources were optimistic that this difficult phase in relations would be over soon. They acknowledged that there were serious irritants, but the ties were strong and resilient enough to ‘overcome the shock’.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/d ... -terror+cooperation-za-06
Iran: Human Rights Abuses Against The Baluchi Minority
Amnesty International is concerned about the rise in human rights violations against members of the Baluchi minority and is calling on the Iranian authorities to take steps to end such abuses. For example, they should end arbitrary arrests, torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, televised "confessions", and bring to justice those officials responsible for torture. They should ensure that all those accused of crimes receive fair trials and end the use of the death penalty. The authorities should also end discrimination against Baluchis in law and practice and, in particular, violations against women and girls.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/104/2007
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