Bahawalpur [Pakistan], April 17 : Bodies of eight Pakistanis, who were killed in Iran were transported to Bahawalpur airport by a special aircraft late night on Wednesday, ARY News reported.
The aircraft landed in the Iranian city of Zahedan to collect the bodies before flying them back to Pakistan.
A solemn condolence ceremony was held at the airport to honour the deceased, with both civil and military officials in attendance.
Iranian officials, including the governor of Zahedan and other senior representatives, also attended the ceremony and paid tribute to the slain Pakistanis. Eight Pakistani nationals were killed on Saturday in the village of Hazabad, located in the Mehrstan district of Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province.
The victims identified as mechanics were shot dead while working at a workshop. Iranian media reports state hat the deceased were mechanics.
The workshop owner, Dilshad, and his son Naeem, along with Jafar, Danish, and Nasir, all hailing from Pakistan's Punjab, are among the victims, ARY News reported.
The embassy of Iran strongly condemned the cowardly attack on Pakistani citizens. "Terrorism is a longstanding plague and a shared threat to the entire region," stated the spokesperson for the Iranian Embassy, as per ARY News.
The embassy stated that treacherous elements, in collusion with international terrorists, are targeting peace and stability.
The bodies were later transported to Ahmedpur Sharqia, the native town of the deceased by road.
Earlier on April 13, unidentified assailants broke into a shop in Iran's Sistan province late at night and killed eight Pakistani workers, ARY News reported citing security sources.
According to security sources, the attackers tied the victims' hands and feet before shooting them dead, in what authorities described as a premeditated terrorist attack rather than a random crime, as per ARY News.
Security sources alleged that banned Baloch terrorist groups, known to have safe havens in Iran, were behind the brutal killings.
The incident has raised serious questions about Iran's ability to curb terrorist activities within its borders, with sources claiming the country has failed to control such groups, ARY News reported.
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