Shiite-majority Iran has once again fired a mortar shell into the restive Balochistan province of its predominantly Sunni neighbor Pakistan, this time killing at least one individual.
On May 21, Iran fired at least five mortar shells into Sunni-majority Balochistan province, which makes up nearly 45 percent of Pakistan’s territory. The Iranian attack did not result in any casualties.
“A mortar shell fired from Iranian side of the border in Balochistan killed a Pakistani civilian on Saturday morning,” reports Pakistan’s The News.
DAWN learned from District Commissioner Makran Division Bashir Bangulzai that the “the mortar shell hit a vehicle in Balochistan’s Panjgur district, killing Kam Jan, a resident of Washuk who was traveling in the vehicle.”
The recent incidents come amid tensions between state-sponsor of Shiite terrorism Iran and Pakistan, which has been accused by several countries of knowingly serving as a sanctuary for Sunni jihadists.
Members of the Sunni terrorist group Jaish ul-Adl (Army of Justice) recently claimed responsibility for an attack that killed ten Iranian guards along the Shiite country’s border with Pakistan, prompting Maj. Gen. Mohammad Baqeri, the chief of Tehran’s armed forces, to declare: “We expect Pakistani officials to control the borders, arrest the terrorists and shut down their bases… If the terrorist attacks continue, we will hit their safe havens and cells, wherever they are.”
Jaish ul-Adl, reportedly a branch of the Pakistani Taliban, is primarily based in a region that sits on the Iran-Pakistan border — the predominantly Shiite nation’s Sistan and Baluchestan province.
On several occasions, Tehran has reportedly accused Islamabad of lending support to Jaish ul-Adl, which has vowed to exterminate all Shiites.
Pakistani authorities have lodged protests with border officials in Iran following repeated incidents along the two country’s mutual border.
DAWN reports, “Pakistan has accused Iranian border forces of repeatedly violating Pakistani territory and targeting civilians at the border.”
“There have been burgeoning incidents of Iranian forces firing mortar shells into Pakistani area. Pakistan also lodged a protest in February and March in this regard. During the past few years, Pakistan has accused Iranian forces of violating its territorial integrity,” adds Daily Pakistan.
Neighboring Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are house members of the mainly Sunni Baloch community.
Various separatist terrorist groups, including the Jaish ul-Adl group that claimed responsibility for attacking Iranian border guards on May 21, have demanded autonomy from Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
The U.S. State Department and human rights groups have accused Islamabad and Tehran of oppressing its Baloch minority.
In turn, Baloch community-linked Sunni sectarian groups have been accused of targeting the Shiite community.
Pakistan shares an estimated 660-mile long border with Iran.
Balochistan province has also been at the center of deadly incidents and kidnappings associated with the ongoing multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a component of Beijing’s modern-day “Silk Road” road project, officially known as the “One Belt, One Road (OBOR).”
CPEC is expected to run through Balochistan province.
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