Pakistani security personnel in Quetta,  the capital of Baluchistan province. File photo used for representational purpose only.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Iranian border guards opened fire at a vehicle carrying a group of Pakistanis, killing four people and wounding two others in a remote area in the southwest, Pakistani officials said Thursday, May 30, 2024.

Also read: 18 gunmen and 10 security force members die in clashes in Iran near Pakistan border

The incident happened near the border village of Mashkel in Baluchistan province on Wednesday, local police said.

Government administrator Sahibzada Asfand said it was unclear why the Iranian forces opened fire.

Local police say the bodies of the four men had been handed over to their families.

There was no immediate comment from Tehran or Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.

Security forces on both sides often arrest smugglers and insurgents who operate in the region.

Pakistan in tit-for-tat strikes in January targeted alleged militant hideouts inside Iran, killing at least nine people in retaliation for a similar attack by Iran.

The Pakistan Army has constituted a high-level inquiry committee headed by a major general to look into the allegations against Lt-Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed that he as the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director-general misused his authority, according to a media report on Thursday.

The inquiry has been ordered according to the orders of the Supreme Court and in the light of the directives of the Ministry of Defence, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

This is the first formal inquiry ordered against Gen Faiz, who resigned in November 2022, four months before his retirement.

Faiz served as the Director-General Counter Intelligence in the ISI and later headed the same spy agency. His name surfaced in many controversies, including the Faizabad Dharna case.

Three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif named him and former army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa as the main characters behind his removal through a Supreme Court order.

While Faiz was given a clean chit in the Faizabad Dharna case by an inquiry commission, the army decided to investigate him months after an owner of a housing society accused him of illegally raiding his residence and stealing valuables.

Sources said the Pakistan Army has decided to investigate all the cases through a high-level institutional inquiry, furthering its accountability process.

“A high-level inquiry committee has been constituted under a major general, which will look at every aspect related to this matter in detail,” sources said.

“There is a strict and highly transparent system of self-accountability in the Pakistan Army and by promoting this system, all such allegations are investigated with great seriousness and those responsible are also given severe punishment so that the self-accountability of the Pakistan Army is maintained.” On November 8, 2023, Moeez Ahmed Khan, the owner of Top City, filed a petition in the Supreme Court in which he accused Faiz of misusing his authority.

The petition stated that on May 12, 2017, at the behest of Gen Faiz, ISI officials raided his Top City office and house.

During the raid, valuables, including gold, diamonds and money, were seized from the house by ISI officials, the petitioner alleged.

The petition also stated that Sardar Najaf, the brother of Faiz, also contacted him to resolve the issue later.

The petition also claimed that Gen Faiz later personally met him to resolve the issue and assured him that some of the items, which had been taken away by the ISI officials during the raid, would be returned.

However, 4.67 kgs of gold and cash weren’t returned to him.

The petitioner also alleged that the ISI officials extorted Pakistani Rs 4 crore cash from him.

Considering the sensitivity of the matter and given these serious allegations, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, which included Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Qazi Faiz Isa, Justice Attar Minullah and Justice Aminuddin, heard the case.

The Supreme Court observed that this was “a very serious matter” and the “serious nature of allegations may damage the image of the entire institution”, therefore the matter cannot be ignored.

The Supreme Court asked the attorney general to look into the matter and discuss it with the relevant authorities.

The attorney general assured the apex court that full cooperation would be given to the matter and action would be taken according to law, the report said.

Nine soldiers were killed earlier in a suicide attack by the outlawed TTP terror group in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Image for representation purpose only. File
| Photo Credit: AP

A Pakistan Army Major and a soldier were killed in a gunbattle with militants during an intelligence-based operation in the restive northwest tribal district bordering Afghanistan, the army said on September 2.

The incident happened two days after nine soldiers were killed in a suicide attack by the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Explained | What’s behind the Pakistani Taliban’s deadly insurgency?

The clash occurred in Miran Shah in North Waziristan tribal district on Friday when the forces engaged in an operation on a tip-off, said Inter-Services Public Relations, the army’s media wing.

According to the statement, the army was attacked by the militants which led to an intense exchange of fire between the two sides, killing a Major and a soldier. One terrorist was also killed and another injured in the exchange of fire.

The army said a clearance operation was underway in Waziristan for the elimination of militants.

Thursday’s suicide attack by TTP militants on a security forces convoy killed nine soldiers and injured 20 others in the Bannu district of the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Recently, Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorist activities orchestrated by the outlawed terror outfit.