Things are really heating up on our borders. It is not just the Line of Control (LoC) on the Pak-India border that is seeing an escalation of violence of late. The Pak-Iran border is now the latest scene in a standoff between Iranian border guards and members of our Frontiers Corps (FC), a paramilitary wing of the army. An officer of the FC has reportedly been killed by the Iranian border guards when an FC vehicle was attacked in the Kech district of Balochistan, right on the border with Iran. It is being reported that Iranian guards also raided the village of Chagai in Balochistan. The death of this FC soldier has sparked anger and resentment on this side of the border with the Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) summoning the Iranian ambassador on Saturday, demanding an investigation into why an officer has been killed. Iran, meanwhile, maintains that militants who have been targeting Iran do so from Pakistan where they have bases that they use to efficiently attack border posts and personnel. Pakistan denies this allegation vehemently but one needs to take stock of the entire situation. The fact that tensions are mounting along the Pak-Iran border should be a grave cause of concern for us all. We have become reputed as the militants’ backyard, their safe haven from where they can orchestrate attacks against our neighbours. India has the same complaint about our so-called proxies fighting in Kashmir, Afghanistan about the Taliban enjoying safe havens on our soil, and now Iran is pushing back to say that it, too, has had enough. We have a very shameful track record and must listen with an open mind to what our regional neighbours are saying. For the FO to immediately dismiss the grievances of the Iranians — complaints they have been voicing for many months now — speaks of a complete absence of the will needed to carry along a neighbor with whom we will need to have civil ties in the future. There could very well be a possibility that militants are using Pakistani soil to launch attacks against Iran; is it not our responsibility to at least entertain that notion? It would not be the first time such a thing has happened. Iran has announced the end of all cooperation agreements with Pakistan and has hinted at the possibility of forgoing the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, which would deliver a devastating blow to our economy and fast depleting resources. We seem to be at peace with no neighbour. An escalation in violence along our borders signifies that there is something very wrong with the cauldron that is bubbling up in Pakistan due to the militants. We need to work with our neighbours, not against them. *