Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make arrangements for bringing back bodies of the eight Pakistani nationals killed in Iran on Saturday.

The eight Pakistanis were working in a car repair shop in Meheristan, Sistan and Balochistan province, which borders Pakistan. All eight men belonged to Bahawalpur and were living in the shop where they worked.

Armed men entered the shop on Saturday, where the tied the men and opened fire on them. The attackers then managed to flee from the site of the attack. Five of the eight killed have been identified as Dilshad, Naeem, Jaffar, Danish and Nasir. Two of the victims, Dilshad and Naeem, are father and son.

The banned Baloch National Army has claimed responsibility for the attack.

“The incident raises serious questions about the terrorists presence in Iranian territory and the failure of Iranian security apparatus to ensure security for foreign nationals working there,” a security official told Khabar Kada.

PM Shehbaz expressed grief and concern over the attack. In a statement, Shehbaz said that terrorism was a scourge threatening all countries in the region. He also called on the Iranian government to find those responsible and punish them. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the attack and said the government stood by the the families of the victims.

The Iranian embassy in Pakistan also issued a condemnation calling terrorism a ‘chronic plight and a common threat’ for the region. “Combating this ominous phenomenon requires collective and joint efforts by all countries,” the embassy added.

This is not the first such attack on Pakistani nationals in Iran this year. Unknown men had killed nine Pakistani workers in Sirkan neighbourhood of Saravan city in the same province on January 27. The workers belonged to Multan, Muzzafargarh and Bahawalpur.

No one had claimed responsbililty for the January attack. The bodies of the nine victims had been airlifted from Taftan to Multan four days later.