Pointless Pak-Iran border tension

Things took an ugly turn along the Pak-Iran border on Thursday night when a rocket fired by Iranian border guards hit an FC vehicle killing a junior officer and injuring four other personnel. According to a press report, these men were going to a place near the Iranian border to fetch drinking water when they spotted two suspected criminals riding a motorcycle and gave them a chase. The suspects opened fired and crossed into Iran. The FC men reacted. In the meantime, Iranian border security also started firing and lobbing rockets and mortar shells towards Pakistani border. The matter did not end there. On Friday again, the two sides exchanged fire; and Iranian border security men also intruded into an area 2km inside Pakistan. This is not the first flare-up along the Iranian border. The situation has remained tense for a while due to criminal elements activities, especially after abduction of five Iranian border guards earlier this year, allegedly by terrorists operating from Pakistani side of the border.
The real reason behind the present flare-up though is something else. Press reports point out that militants belonging to Jaishul Adl have stepped up attacks on Iranian posts along Pakistan-Iran border over the past fortnight, prompting an Iranian official to vent anger at Pakistan saying "the Pakistan government has practically no control over the border areas. And if they really cannot control the common border, they should tell us so that we ourselves can take action." Tehran had made similar threats after the border guards' abduction incident. As then, Islamabad has contested the present claim, asserting that information available suggests that the incident took place inside Iranian territory and was carried out by Iranian militants. There is no tangible issue of dispute between the two countries. They share a 700km long border, which is not easy to secure against illegal crossings by smugglers and other criminal elements. Hence when Tehran decided to build barriers along its side of the border, Pakistan raised no objection. That country must also be aware that the Pakistan itself faces violence from Baloch insurgents as well as sectarian militants in the adjacent Balochistan province. Therefore, if at all some elements are using the area to create mischief; it needs to be handled through co-operative and well co-ordinated efforts. Trading accusations will not resolve anything. Commenting on the latest outrage, Foreign Office spokesperson offered a sane solution saying "if Iran has evidence that elements from Pakistan are involved in activities in Iran, they should share it with us." It is precisely to deal with such issues that there exists a border management committee. Iran should use this committee to investigate the cause of trouble and devise effective counter measures. If need be Pakistan should have no qualms going an extra mile to assuage Iran's concerns. Both countries' interests would be best served by a joint stand against the common threat of terrorism.