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Iran protests killing of its national in Pakistan

Iran has lodged a strong protest with Pakistan over the killing of an Iranian cleric in Karachi on Saturday.

The Iranian foreign ministry on Tuesday summoned Pakistan's charge d'affaires and conveyed to him its protest over the murder of Hajatoleslam Mohammad Haji Sultani.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asafi said the Pakistani diplomat expressed his government's 'deep regret' over the killing and sympathised with the family of the bereaved, according to IRNA, the Iranian news agency.

The Iranian official quoted the Pakistani charge d'affaires as saying that his government had begun vigorous measures to arrest those responsible for the murder.

The foreign ministry spokesman said, "The Pakistani charge d'affaires stressed that his government is determined to deal decisively with terrorism which has targeted the interests of people and the country as terrorists want to harm Pakistan's relations with its friends."

The spokesman said, "Unfortunately, the dimensions of terrorism in Pakistan are monumental and the government of that country is expected to do its best to uproot this sinister phenomenon."

The murder of Iranian nationals in the past few years in Pakistan has been a sore point in relations between the two countries.

Recently, the Pakistani Supreme Court suspended the execution of a man affiliated to an extremist religious group who was convicted of the 1990 murder of an Iranian diplomat. Iran has already conveyed to Pakistan its unhappiness over the ruling.

UNI

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