Eight Pakistani workers killed in attack in southeast Iran

Express Tribune

12-04-2025

Eight Pakistani citizens were brutally killed in Iran's southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, Iranian and Pakistani officials said Saturday, in what has been described as a shocking act of violence near the two countries' shared border.
The victims, all hailing from Bahawalpur district in Pakistan's Punjab province, were working at an automobile workshop in the remote village of Hazerabad in Mehrestan district, where they carried out vehicle painting, polishing, and repair work.
Among the deceased were Dilshad, his son Naeem, and others identified as Jafar, Danish, and Nasir.
According to local sources, the victims were found with their hands and feet tied and had been shot dead at close range.
The attack reportedly occurred during the night when unidentified assailants stormed the workshop and opened fire indiscriminately, killing all eight men on the spot.
Iranian security forces cordoned off the area and recovered the bodies. Authorities have launched an investigation, but no arrests have been made and the perpetrators remain unidentified.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. However, preliminary reports suggest the involvement of an anti-Pakistan militant organization operating in the border region.
The Pakistani embassy in Tehran confirmed that its representatives have reached the site to assist in identifying the bodies and gathering further information.
"We are in continuous contact with Iranian authorities," a spokesperson for the Pakistani embassy in Tehran said. "All possible steps will be taken to support the affected families and ensure justice is served."
Pakistani labourers are commonly employed in Iran's border regions, particularly in vehicle repair and agriculture. However, the latest killings have raised fresh concerns over the safety of foreign workers in the country's restive eastern provinces.
This is not the first time such an incident has occurred in the region. In January last year, nine Pakistani nationals were killed by unidentified gunmen in Saravan, another town in Sistan-Baluchestan.
According to Iran's Mehr news agency, the attackers entered a residence in the Sirkan neighbourhood and opened fire, killing nine and injuring three others before fleeing the scene.
The province's deputy governor, Alireza Marhamati, confirmed the details, citing survivors' accounts of three armed assailants carrying out the attack.
Pakistan's ambassador to Tehran, Muhammad Mudassir Tipu, expressed deep shock at the time, calling the killings 'horrifying' in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The recurring violence underscores the growing insecurity in Iran's eastern regions, where ethnic tensions, smuggling networks, and militant activity have contributed to instability and frequent cross-border concerns.