Pakistan on Tuesday blamed a massive suicide attack in Iran on forces wanting to spoil relations between the countries and denied knowing the whereabouts of the alleged mastermind wanted by Tehran. The comments from foreign ministry came as Iran stepped up pressure on Islamabad, charging that the group accused of launching Sunday's attack is based in Pakistan and urging its ally to confront the rebels.
"There are forces which are out to spoil our relations with Iran. But our ties are strong enough to counter these machinations," Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told AFP. President Asif Ali Zardari had called his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and "assured him of Pakistan's full co-operation in the fight against terrorism," Basit said.
Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the group responsible is based in Pakistan and that its members regularly infiltrate the border and launch attacks inside Iran. "There is no question given the excellent relations between us that Pakistani territory be allowed to be used for terrorist acts against Iran," Basit told AFP.
"We don't know the whereabouts of Rigi," said the spokesman. "As Interior Minister Rehman Malik said, Rigi is not in Pakistan," he added. Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Tuesday stepped up pressure on Islamabad, saying the group accused of launching a deadly suicide attack in the country is based in Pakistan. Mottaki said members of the group regularly violate the Iran-Pakistan border and launch attacks inside the Islamic republic. "The hands of those behind the crimes in south-east Iran must be cut," he added.