Islamabad has asked Tehran to share the intelligence regarding Jandullah’s links with Pakistan-based militant organisations after most of the foreign militants arrested and interrogated by the Pakistani authorities revealed that they entered the country illegally via Iran with the connivance of different Iranian contacts.
According to a report prepared by the Interior Ministry, a copy of which is available with Pakistan Today, the ministry asked the authorities concerned to convey the message to Iran that cooperation on the issue was very important since Jandullah activists keep on changing positions, which made it difficult to find their exact location at one or the other point in the vast territory of Balochistan.
“Recently, a JIT interrogated a number of foreign militants arrested from different areas of Pakistan. Most of them revealed that they entered Pakistan illegally via Iran with the connivance of different Iranian contacts,” the report said, adding that being an Iranian Baloch sub-nationalist, Abdul Malik Regi reportedly, was in contact with banned Baloch militant organisations like BLA, BNM and BNF. Jandullah enjoys extensive contacts among Baloch population in Iranian Balochistan and sometime its activists take shelter in Pakistani territory after committing terrorist acts in Iran, the report said.
It further said that intelligence-sharing from the Iranian side was very important for taking strict action against these militants. According to the report, the Iranian authorities must be told that Pakistan being a victim of terrorism itself is and has been more than willing to cooperate with the Iranian government on counter-terrorism measures. “The FC operation in August 2007 and subsequent handing over of criminals to Iran in February 2008 and arrest of Abdul Hameed Regi and Ghulam Haider Raisani (brother of Abdul Malik Regi) from Pakistan and handing over to Iran in June 2008 are some of the examples of Pakistan’s commitment,” the report mentioned.
The report further said in the backdrop of Pakistan’s already strained relations with India, it could not afford tensions with Iran. In the aftermath of Regi’s hanging, any retaliatory attacks in Iran by Jandullah activists using Pakistani territory may result into worsening of prevailing situation. The border security forces on both sides need to remain on high alert on Pak-Iran border in the above context, the report suggested.
It asked the quarters concerned to inform Tehran that border violations would only aggravate relations between the two countries, a situation which might be exploited by the enemies of both the countries, especially India. The Interior Ministry believed that “Indian Mission at Tehran is pro-active against Pakistan. It’s lobbying and propaganda campaign remained successful when Iranian high-ups issued statements against Pakistan.”
The report also said that Regi was an Iranian national, resident of Sarawan, Zahidan, and belonged to the Sunni sect. He was a well-known smuggler, gangster and a founding member of Jandullah. Despite the fact that Iran had been alleging that Regi was in Pakistan, his exact whereabouts remained unknown and he was believed to be operating from Afghanistan. In the aftermath of suicide bombing on 18 October 2009, Iran alleged that agents based in Pakistan with elements inside Iran were involved in the incident.
It also blamed the US, UK and Pakistan for engineering the blast and demanded Islamabad’s cooperation without any delay in the arrest of the culprits. However, the claim was not verified. In the aftermath of the said attack, Zero Point on Taftan border was closed, resulting in halting of border trade between the two countries while the Tehran also enhanced security measures on its border with Pakistan.
Nevertheless, Pakistan’s stance about Regi’s presence in Afghanistan was later vindicated when Iranian authorities apprehended him on 23 February 2010 from a flight en route to Kyrgyzstan from Dubai. Announcing his capture on 19 June 2010, Iranian authorities hanged Regi.
