(Reuters) – Iran is investigating an incident in which at least two Iranians were shot dead this week at the border with Pakistan, and Islamabad has handed over the body of one of the victims, the Iranian foreign ministry said on Friday.
Monday’s shooting of at least two people carrying fuel across the border led to protests that spread from the city of Saravan to other areas in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, including the capital, Zahedan.
A provincial security official has said calm has returned to the province with the help of religious leaders. Media quoted prominent Baluch Sunni Muslim religious leader Molavi Abdulhamid as urging calm and calling for an independent investigation.
“The body of at least one person was delivered by Pakistan’s border guards. We are reviewing the incident,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
Protesters stormed a governor’s office in southeastern Iran on Tuesday and set fire to a police car, according to videos posted on social media. Security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the footage.
Sistan-Baluchistan’s population is predominantly Sunni Muslim, while most Iranians are Shi’ite. Iran has some of the lowest fuel prices in the world and has been fighting smuggling to neighbouring countries.
(dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
