Fighting in Iran’s Saravan draws attention to border with Pakistan — Dawn
In Saravan, in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province near the border with Pakistan, intense fighting between Iranian security forces and unidentified armed men was reported on September 12. According to available reports, military vehicles were attacked, and dozens of security personnel were killed or injured.
As Dawn writes, responsibility for the attack has not been definitively established. Some analysts link it to Jaish al-Adl or the People’s Fighters Front, an alliance of several groups that reportedly includes Jaish al-Adl.
Border security
The article’s author, security analyst Muhammad Amir Rana, notes that the approximately 900-kilometer Pakistan-Iran border remains one of the less-covered fronts of the broader conflict in West Asia. Religious and nationalist armed groups, as well as transnational criminal networks, operate in the border area. The author also identifies the permeability of the border as an additional risk factor.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
According to media reports, Pakistani security agencies have placed Balochistan on heightened alert over possible consequences of the war in Iran. The situation is also complicated by the closure of Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan and the partial closure of its border with Iran, which has affected transport and economic activity, including in the extractive sector.
Consequences of regional tensions
Rana recalls that Iran’s strike on Pakistani territory on January 16, 2024, which Tehran linked to Jaish al-Adl hideouts, and subsequent Pakistani strikes on militant targets in Iran changed the nature of bilateral relations. After that, the countries strengthened security cooperation, which, in the author’s assessment, has largely been maintained.
In the author’s view, the fighting in Saravan has raised questions about the future of border security. If the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has to focus resources on U.S. and Israeli strikes, the Strait of Hormuz, and operations in the Persian Gulf, Sistan and Baluchestan may have to compete for those resources. Rana believes that further instability in border-region Balochistan would significantly complicate Pakistan’s internal security situation.
