Eight Pakistani laborers were shot dead on Saturday, April 12 (23 Farvardin) by unknown armed assailants in the village of Heizabad-e Paeen in Mehrestan County, located in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan. According to local reports, the attackers entered a repair shop in the early morning and opened fire on the workers; when found, the victims’ hands and feet were bound.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Agence France-Presse reported that Jaish al-Adl also issued a statement taking credit. The BLA is a militant separatist group advocating for independence in Pakistan’s Balochistan region, and the eight victims are believed to have come from Punjab Province in Pakistan.
The Iranian Embassy in Islamabad condemned the incident as a “terrorist” act and is working to return the victims’ bodies to Pakistan; Iranian authorities have also launched an immediate investigation. Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, described the killing of innocent people as a “criminal act contrary to all Islamic standards and legal and human norms,” although Iranian officials have not publicly identified any motive for the attack. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif termed it “the brutal killing of eight Pakistanis,” calling on Tehran to “immediately arrest the perpetrators, apply appropriate punishment, and publicize the cause of this attack.” Yousaf Raza Gilani, Chairman of Pakistan’s Senate, called it a “barbaric and heartbreaking tragedy,” and Syed-al Khan, Deputy Chairman of the Senate, labeled it “an unbearable and deeply shocking act.”
This is the second deadly incident involving Pakistani citizens in Sistan and Baluchestan in recent months. In February, nine Pakistani nationals were killed in Saravan, another border town in the same province. Cross-border militancy has long challenged both Iran and Pakistan, particularly in Sistan and Baluchestan, with each country occasionally conducting strikes against separatist groups operating across the border. In January 2024 (Dey 1402), Iran launched a missile and drone attack on a target in Pakistan, followed two days later by a Pakistani missile strike on a village in Sistan and Baluchestan; both attacks caused multiple casualties.
In November, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) staged a military exercise in Rask, leading to clashes that killed several Jaish al-Adl members and IRGC personnel. The Balochistan Liberation Army, now considered a major security threat by the Pakistani government, took over 300 train passengers hostage in the Pakistani province of Balochistan in late March. While eventually released, at least 21 civilians and four soldiers were killed.
Several Western countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, have designated the BLA a terrorist organization. The group’s tactics have evolved from targeting Pakistani security forces in Balochistan to attacking Chinese nationals involved in regional infrastructure projects. According to Agence France-Presse, these militant and separatist groups have recently expanded operations into other parts of Pakistan, especially Punjab, the most populous province and closely tied to the country’s military.
Iran and Pakistan have both pledged to bring the perpetrators of this latest incident in Mehrestan to justice, but the broader issue of cross-border militancy remains unresolved.