TEHRAN / ISLAMABAD — Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian met with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, during his official visit to Islamabad, where both leaders affirmed a mutual commitment to jointly counter threats from India-linked militant groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
According to statements released by Pakistan’s Press Information Department and Iran’s official media, the two countries emphasized the urgent need to rid their shared border regions—particularly parts of Balochistan and Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan—of insurgent activity and extremist elements.
President Pezeshkian expressed that the Iran–Pakistan border should be transformed into a zone of peace and cooperation, free from terrorist and criminal organizations. He pledged Tehran’s support in enhancing bilateral security coordination and intelligence sharing.
General Munir, presiding over meetings that involved senior military and intelligence officials, welcomed the renewed security engagement with Iran. The two leaders agreed to step up collaboration involving joint surveillance, coordinated operations against militant hideouts, and improved cross-border law enforcement mechanisms.
Officials noted that both governments condemn the BLA—and Pakistan-based groups such as Jaish al-Adl—for cross-border terrorism and kidnapping incidents. Pakistan has previously launched unilateral strikes into Iran in response to Iranian air raids on BLA camps in Balochistan, with both sides now pursuing a diplomatic reset to manage and mitigate such crises.
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Analysts say Iran’s outreach underlies a strategic pivot toward Pakistan, driven by security needs and economic imperatives, such as the stalled Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline project. Both countries also agreed to accelerate talks on joint trade, transit corridors, and energy cooperation, aiming to bring bilateral trade closer to a $10 billion target in the coming years .
Militant separatist groups, including the BLA and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), operate in Pakistan’s mineral-rich but underdeveloped Balochistan and Iran’s adjacent Sistan-Balochistan provinces. The BLA has carried out high-profile attacks in Pakistan, such as the March 2025 sequestration of the Jaffar Express train, which resulted in numerous casualties before security forces intervened .
The insurgency has also prompted cross-border retaliation. In January 2024, Pakistan struck militant hideouts in Iran in what became known as Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar—an escalation that risked drawing both countries into a broader conflict before diplomatic de-escalation occurred