By Afshain Afzal

At least 10 Sunni Baluch were killed in restive Sistan-Baluchistan province, when in Saravan border area near Pakistan locals were stopped by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from carrying fuel and other commodities from Iran to Pakistan. Since then the situation is tense and several mobile network operators have shut down internet access in several parts of the province, including Zahedan and Saravan.

As per the details the incident happened on 22 February, when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps blocked the road that Sunni residents at the Eskan border area in the town of Saravan in Sistan-Baluchistan province use to transport fuel and other essentials to their Pakistani family members.

In a statement on 23 February, Mohamad Hadi Marashi, the Sistan-Baluchistan Deputy Governor for security, told reporters that the shooting started from the Pakistan side of the border and said that two people had died. Later, in a modified statement, Ali Ahmad Mouhebati, the Governor of Sistan-Baluchistan claimed before representatives of tribal leaders in the area that three people were killed in the incident, two of them in Pakistani territory.

Meanwhile, in reaction to the incident, protesters stormed the Governor's office in southeastern Iran province of Sistan-Baluchistans against the authorities and demanded probe. The Iranian security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Situation has returned to normal after direction from Iranian Sunni minority religious leader, Imam Jamia Masjid Zahedan, Molavi Abdul Hamid to calm down. He instructed residents of Sunni majority province of Sistan-Baluchistan to remain peaceful and wait for the investigations to take place. However, Molavi Abdul Hamid complained about "Sunnis being second- and third-class citizens". With 21 members in parliament, Sunnis represent only 7 percent of the 290 total members of the body, yet Sunnis make up between 25 and 30 percent of Iran's population, however, official figures do not support it. Article 12 of the Islamic Republic's constitution (drafted after the 1979 revolution) states that the official religion of Iran is Twelver faith of Jafari Islam (Shiaism), adding that this is "eternally unchangeable". Articles 109 and 115 of the Islamic Republic's constitution say Iran's leader and its president must be Shia.

The Pakistani foreign office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri on Friday 26 February. described a statement by an Iranian official accusing Pakistani security forces of shooting at oil smugglers earlier this week as "factually incorrect". The statement said, the incident occurred on the Iranian side of the border, "We are aware of the statement, which is factually incorrect, we have taken up the matter with the Iranian Embassy about the statement made by the Deputy Governor of Sistan-Baluchistan province of Iran." The statement added, "Such unfortunate incidents validate the need to have more formal ways to increase trading opportunities for local people. We remain engaged with Iranian officials to discuss ways and means of facilitating cross-border commerce for local people living on both sides of the border and ensure the security of our common frontier."

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet accused Iran of persistent impunity for human rights violations in regions including Sistan-Baluchistan. Bachelet speaking to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, "In Iran, an apparently coordinated campaign has been targeting minority groups since December, including in Sistan-Baluchestan, Khuzestan, and in the Kurdish provinces. Mass arrests and enforced disappearances have been reported, as well as increasing numbers of executions, following deeply flawed processes.

The Human Rights watch in a statement said, “The Iranian authorities should urgently conduct a transparent and impartial investigation into the shootings at the Saravan border,” said Tara Sepehri Far, Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should hold those responsible for wrongdoing to account, appropriately compensate victims, and ensure that border guards are taking the utmost precautions to respect the right to life and other human rights.”

Sistan-Baluchistan province has a high rate of poverty and comparatively lacks access to economic and social infrastructure. Lack of economic opportunities have led many residents to engage in cross-border commerce with Pakistan as their only source of income. As per the agreement between Governments of Pakistan and Iran in 1960s, the people of Sistan-Baluchistan can visit Pakistan without passport and carryout trade upto Rupees 10,000. Hence, it is legal to trade without any permission for the people of Sistan-Baluchistan but both Iran and Pakistan do not allow them to exercise their rights. In the same context, in a recent move, the Government of Pakistan is being forced to construct fence at its 900-kilometer border with Iran, costing around US $20 million. The area is used as trade route by minority Sunni population of Sistan-Baluchistan province.

Most of the population of the Sistan and Baluchistan province are Sunni and were Pakistani national before 1960s but their fate was decided by giving a vast area to Iran under an agreement which has not yet made public. The Government of Pakistan in violation of national sovereignty has allowed Iranian forces to carryout operations inside Pakistani territories in the name of combatting terrorism and un one such operation on 2 February, Iranian agencies claimed that Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Ground Force's Quds Base in Southeastern Iran carried out ground operations deep inside Pakistan and rescued two of its soldiers. Similar operations are in progress quite often. One wonders such incidents warrant immediate redresses of the grievances of residents of Sistan-Baluchistan but such it should be only the Iran Government to handle the matter without outside interference and pressure.