Pakistan seeks Iran help in RAW activities probe

According to sources, the letter to Iran comprises of six sections including a request of information about activities of detained RAW officer Kulbhushan Yadav during his stay in Iran.

Islamabad has also requested Tehran to arrest and hand over another undercover agent of RAW operating in Iran namely Rakesh alias Rizwan, who is working at Iran’s Chabahar port as a business man and was responsible for providing backup support to Kulbhushan Yadav, sources said.

Pakistan in the letter also sought Iranian support in identification of local network of Indian agents and their activities that pose direct threat to Pakistan.

The sources said that the matter of arrested RAW officer Kulbhushan Yadav was raised in a recent meeting between interior ministers of Pakistan and Iran. Iranian Home Minister asked the Pakistani counterpart to send an official reference to Tehran over the matter. Iran will only address Pakistani concerns about RAW’s presence at Chabahar port if Islamabad would formally raise the issue with Tehran.

Yadav was recently arrested from Balochistan and confessed his involvement in sabotage activities in Karachi and Balochistan.

Iran embassy statement

Iranian Embassy in Islamabad in a statement on Thursday slammed “certain elements in Pakistan” for spreading “undignified and offensive” remarks, which it said were attributed to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, regarding the arrest of Indian spy Kulbhushan Yadav.

“Elements unhappy over promotion of ties between the two Islamic countries of Iran and Pakistan are trying in various ways, including the spreading of undignified and sometimes offensive contents, to fade out the significant achievements during the visit of President Rouhani to Pakistan,” a spokesman of Iranian embassy said.

The spreading of such news items is the product of thinking which does not like further expansion of ties between the two countries and is against fruitful materialisation of agreements made during the visit of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the statement said.

Such tactics “will not impact the positive views of the two countries regarding each other.”

Since independence, the “western borders of Pakistan have never been threatened”. “Iran considers its borders with Pakistan those of peace and friendship,” the spokesman added.