Pursuit of the Extradition of Commander Jish al-Nasr from Pakistan to Iran

Four months after conflicting reports about the arrest of Abdolsttar Rigi, a relative of Abdolmalek Rigi and commander of the Jish al-Nasr group, the Deputy Governor of Sistan and Baluchestan says that his extradition to Iran is being pursued through a 'special committee.' According to Fars News Agency, the Deputy Security Governor of Sistan and Baluchestan emphasized that 'we will receive Abdolsttar Rigi.' Ali Asghar Mirshakari, the political-security deputy of the Sistan and Baluchestan governorate, stated that Pakistani officials have 'confirmed' that he is imprisoned in that country. On Sunday, July 14, in an interview with Fars News Agency, he also mentioned that the extradition of what he referred to as 'criminals and terrorists' was among the agreements made between Iran and Pakistan during the 18th joint border meeting of the two countries in Ordibehesht. Hossein Zolfaqari, the Deputy Security and Police Minister of Iran, had said on March 2, 2015, that 'based on information received from Pakistani officials,' Abdolsttar Rigi was arrested in the Balochistan region of Pakistan. Two days prior, Reuters had cited Pakistani security officials identifying the arrested individual as Salam Rigi, the cousin of Abdolmalek Rigi. Following the publication of these reports, Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, announced that Abdolsttar Rigi had handed over Salam Rigi's identification card, his cousin's, to Pakistani security agents at the moment of his arrest to conceal his identity. However, Tasnim Aslam, spokesperson for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, stated on March 2, 2015, that reports regarding the arrest of Abdolsttar Rigi 'are not confirmed.' Following these statements, however, the Deputy Security Minister of Iran said on March 17, 2015, that 'we are sure that Satari Rigi has been arrested.' Abdolrauf Rigi, after the death of his brother and with the support of other members of the Jundallah group, established a new group called Jish al-Adl but later separated from this group and formed another group called Jish al-Nasr. After the assassination of Abdolrauf Rigi, Abdolsttar Rigi had recently begun his activities as the new commander of Jish al-Nasr in place of his older brother. Abdolmalek Rigi was executed on June 19, 2010, after being arrested by Iranian security forces in February 2009.