ISLAMABAD has sought Tehran’s “full co-operation” over the killing of eight Pakistani nationals in south eastern Iran, officials said yesterday.

Urging a thorough investigation, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry stated the killings happened on Saturday in Mehrestan County in Sistan and Baluchistan province, about 142 miles from the Pakistan-Iran border.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran Muhammad Mudassir wrote on X that the eight were labourers and the two countries were working on facilitating repatriation of the bodies.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility.

The Baluch regions across Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan have faced an insurgency by Baluch nationalists seeking independence for more than two decades.

In Pakistan’s south-western Balochistan the Baloch Liberation Army often targets security forces and civilians.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement: “Iran will spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators and masterminds behind this atrocity and ensuring justice is duly served.”

Its spokesperson Esmail Baqaei called the killing “an act of terrorism” and “a criminal act which is fundamentally incompatible with all Islamic principles and legal and humanitarian norms.”

HalVash, an advocacy group for the Baluch people of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, reported that unknown gunmen opened fire on eight Pakistani citizens who ran a car repair business in the city.