Pakistan has vehemently denied any involvement in the suicide attack in Iran’s Sistan Balochistan province. Iran has faced sporadic attacks in its restive eastern frontier adjoining the Balochistan province in Pakistan.  This latest attack, has irked Tehran so much so that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad directly blamed Pakistani security agents for involvement. Earlier, Iranian Parliament Speaker, Ali Larijani, held US responsible for the attack. The Iranian government had previously been accusing US of funding and supporting Jundullah—an insurgent outfit, also known as People’s Resistance Movement of Iran that is fighting against the political and religious oppression of Iranian minority Sunnis.

Part of the allegations pertaining Pakistan may be supported by the fact that the attackers are believed to have slipped across the border from Pakistan. The poorly manned border between Pakistan and Iran witnesses large-scale cross-border movement among tribes on either side. Besides, the heavy smuggling conducted by organised crime syndicates across Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan pose a grave security threat to all three neighbours.

While Iran had previously accused Pakistan of not doing enough to curb Iranian insurgents from its side, the latest charges, levelled by none other than Ahmadenijad, are serious enough to merit concern. A full-scale diplomatic furore erupted with both Iran and Pakistan exchanging heated allegations and denials. Iran has demanded immediate action and arrest of the culprits of the attack, while the Foreign office in Islamabad has rejected the presence of Jundallah leader Abdul Malik Regi in Pakistan. Regi is believed to be in Pakistan, from where he plans operations inside Iran, mainly relying on suicide attacks and kidnappings targeting Iranian security officials including police and Revolutionary Guards. Apart from several bombings, killing a number of security officials over the past few years, a kidnapping incident in 2007 led to the closure of Pakistan-Iran border: it involved nearly two-dozen Iranian truck drivers and was finally resolved after Pakistani security agencies managed to secure the release and subsequent return of these hostages.

The Iranian allegations are bound to create impediments, or at least hinder, the counter-terrorism cooperation  between Pakistan and Iran. Though sentiments may be running high in Tehran, the government should focus more on cooperating more closely with Pakistan by sharing intelligence and developing a strategy to hunt down the perpetrators of the attack. Pakistan is currently facing a grave military challenge in Waziristan, having launched a ground offensive against the Taleban and does not need more instability on its borders with Iran. The presence of US and international forces in neighbouring Afghanistan has bred further destabilisation in the entire region. It is hence critical that the regional neighbours try to overcome their differences and jointly work towards combating terrorism. Iran should, at the same time, step up efforts to look into the grievances of its ethnic minority groups, and take away the advantage groups like Jundallah exploit in the name of addressing just concerns.