Thursday 10 April 2014

Wife of allegedly slain captive Iranian border guard wants answers

Elham Nazardoost told Iran's official news agency: "My husband, like any other soldier in any part of the world, worked for the protection of his people and the borders of his country, and I expect those who are holding him to understand this."

Two months ago, the Sunni militant group Jeysh-ol-Adl captured five soldiers near the border between Sistan-Baluchistan and Pakistan, including 27-year-old Danaifar. Then the Sunni group announced that it had executed Danaifar.

The four other soldiers have since been released; however, Danaifar's fate remains unconfirmed, and Iranian officials say they cannot be certain of his death.

The head of the Sistan-Baluchistan border police says he cannot confirm Danaifar's death because Jeysh-ol Adl has not returned his remains.

Mowlavi Abdolhamid, the Zahedan Friday Mass Imam and a senior Sunni leader who was involved in negotiating the release of the hostages, has been quoted as saying that Danaifar's death and burial in the mountains of Pakistan's Baluchistan region "is almost confirmed."

Omid Shahbakhsh, a Baluch elder and member of the mediating delegation, has said that their efforts to secure Danaifar's remains have not been successful.

Iranian President Hassan Rohani has said no effort should be spared to ascertain the fate of Jamshid Danaifar.

Iranian MP Ali Motahari said in Parliament that the role of Sunni religious leaders and elders in negotiating the release of the abducted border officers should not be overlooked.

"On the issue of release of the border officers, certainly security and intelligence officers had a fundamental role, but this should not deny the part Sunni religious leaders played in it," Ali Motahari said in Parliament on Tuesday April 8.

Five Iranian border officials were abducted last February in the Sistan-Baluchistan border regions with Pakistan, and the Sunni militant group Jeysh-ol-Adl later took responsibility for it.

In March, the group announced that it has executed one of the captives, identified as Jamshid Danaifar. On Sunday, all hostages save Danaifar were released and returned to Iranian territory.

Motahari pointed out that Mowlavi Abdolhamid, Zahedan's Friday Mass Imam, sent a delegation that included his own son-in-law to negotiate the release of the soldiers, and on the way back home, his son-in-law was killed in an accident.

Motahari stressed that Mowlavi Abdolhamid has refuted rumours that the government caused the accident and even announced in his Friday Mass sermon that the incident had been an accident.

Some hardliners have spoken out against the involvement of Sunni religious leaders in the release of border officials, saying it legitimizes the actions of Jeysh-ol-Adl and raises the question how they could in effect make contact with the group.




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