A dispute along the border between Pakistani Balochistan and Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan Province seems to be escalating today, with warnings today from Iran that they may close the border entirely to protest the arrest of three of their border guards, captured reportedly for crossing into Pakistan and killing someone.
Pakistani police have said that the thee border guards will be charged with murder for the attack, while Iran has reportedly arrested a number of Pakistani fishermen for crossing the maritime border as well.
Disputes along this border are not unusual, and Iran is particularly aggressive in policing the border for Balochi militant factions like the US-backed Jundallah, which often operate out of Pakistan but launch attacks against targets inside Iran.
The closure could leave Pakistan with almost no open border crossings nationwide, as the border with India is historically closed and Pakistan has blocked the border with Afghanistan to protest the US attack on a pair of Pakistani military bases.
There is a good reason why Pakistan virtually has no friends.