Pakistan has handed over to Iran four Iranian rebels, including the brother of a militant group leader in south-eastern Iran, state media reported on Saturday. The handover took place as part of a security pact between Iran and Pakistan, which borders Sistan-Balochestan province in south-eastern Iran, state television said.
Abdolhamid Rigi, brother of Abdolmalek Rigi, ringleader of the shadowy Jundallah group, was handed over to Iran on Friday night, the official Irna news agency said. "Rigi had been jailed in Quetta, Pakistan, over the past year," Irna said, adding that he had sought to present himself along with 15 others as Pakistani nationals.
"But he was handed over after officials presented evidence that these people are to be prosecuted in Iran," it said. On Friday, Pakistan launched a search for 16 Iranian security workers kidnapped on Thursday by an armed group, which Iran says has taken the hostages to Pakistan.
Jundallah has claimed a string of attacks and kidnappings in Sistan- Balochistan, which is home to a substantial ethnic Baloch community, and lies on a major narcotics route from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Iran accuses its arch-enemy, the United States, of backing Jundallah and inciting unrest in its minority-populated border areas.
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