TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- The Pakistani army has informed Iran that it has begun operations to release a number of abducted Iranian border guards, a top Iranian security official said on Sunday.
Brigadier General Qasem Rezaei, the chief of Iran’s Border Guard Command, said the issue of the border guards abducted by Pakistan-based terrorists is one of the main concerns of his command and the chief of staff of the armed forces.
"Iran’s police chief has always focused on this issue and, following his order, there has been a lot of efforts to return the abducted border guards to the country,” he said.
Rezaei touched on meetings with Pakistani officials and some tribal chiefs, saying, "We believe the Pakistani government has a strong army and strong security forces, and if wants, it can definitely release our guards.”
Referring to strong relations and friendship between Iran and Pakistan, he said, "We must not allow the disrupters of security to do whatever they want, and we expect the Pakistani government to deal seriously with the members of the terrorist groups.”
Twelve Iranian security personnel were abducted by the Jaish ul-Adl terror group, which is based in Pakistan, back in October.
Iran’s IRGC commander announced in November that five of the guards abducted by terrorists at a border post in the city of Mirjaveh southeast Iran had been released.
The others, however, are still held by the terrorists, and efforts continue to secure their release.