Pakistan hands two hostages, a terror suspect over to Iran – official
Published: Monday, June 16, 2008
00:40GMT—8:40AM/EST
IRAN – MILITANTS – HOSTAGES
Washington, 15 June (IranVNC)—A Japanese student who was abducted near the town of Bam in the southeastern Iranian province of Kerman by “drug traffickers and bandits” 10 months ago and taken to Pakistan, was released and flew to Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported yesterday. A Friday payer leader, from the southeastern region, who was abducted two months ago by “bandits”, was also released, IRNA reports Hojjattol-Eslam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, Iran’s Intelligence Minister as saying on Saturday. Three members of an armed group in Sistan-va-Baluchistan Province were also arrested, Ejei added, but did not provide a specific time for these events.
Satoshi Nakamura, a 23-year old sociology student—was abducted in the southeastern province of Iran in October 2007. Later reports suggested that, his captors, who had demanded the release of a number of prisoners in exchange for his release, had taken him to Pakistan.
Javad Taheri, the Friday prayer leader of the southeastern town of Fahraj, was abducted and taken to Pakistan on 21 April. Iran’s media said that a group of “drug traffickers” headed by Esmail Shahbakhsh and the militant Sistan-va-Baluchistan-based group, Jundullah, responsible for the abductions. In exchange for the release of the two prisoners, the two groups demanded that prisoners belonging to their “gangs” be released, according to reports.
The release of Nakamura and Taheri comes days after 16 armed officials were taken hostage in Sistan-va- Baluchistan Province.
The Intelligence Minister, Mohseni Ejei, said that the government of Pakistan, “delivered Hamid Rigi, [the brother of Jundullah leader Abdul Malek Rigi], to the Iranian authorities,” reports IRNA.
Iran accuses Jundullah of carrying out abductions, bombings and other terrorist acts in Iran.
Iran holds Jundullah responsible for an incident in 2006 in which Tehran says Jundullah members killed 21 individuals including security officials and an official of the water bureau of the southeastern city of Zahedan. Referring to that incident Mohseni Ejei said, “Hamid Rigi is an essential operative of the atrocities. …After hiding in Pakistan, with the help of Pakistan’s authorities he was handed over to the Islamic Republic on Saturday [14 June].
Iran also holds Jundullah responsible for the death of a representative of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, in Sistan-va-Baluchistan, who the government says was killed on a road leading from Zahedan to the city of Zabol.
Source: IRNA
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(Original article written in Persian.)