President Hassan Rouhani in a telephone call with Pakistain's Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
demanded "serious and swift action" by Pakistain to secure the release of the soldiers.
"We expect to hear good news in this regard," he said, while calling for "joint action by both countries against terrorists," the official IRNA news agency reported.
For his part, Sharif said the issue was of "utmost importance" to his government and that he was "prepared to boost action to free the soldiers."
Earlier, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed "grave concern" about the fate of Jamshid Danayifar, who was kidnapped along with four other border guards on February 6 by rebel group Jaish Al-Adl.
"We did all we could to secure their release," Zarif told the state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
after a cabinet meeting. "But it is disappointing that the Pak government has failed to secure its borders, and allows Death Eaters to operate on its soil."
Zarif's remarks came after his ministry summoned Pak ambassador Nour Mohammad Jadmani, demanding "swift and serious action" to secure the release of the soldiers, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli meanwhile warned -- without elaborating -- that Iran "reserves the right to utilise all its ability in its border areas."
Jaish Al-Adl said on its website on Sunday that Danayifar had been killed, warning of further executions should Tehran refuse to "release Sunni prisoners."
Iran's interior ministry says it is awaiting Islamabad's official position amid media reports that local Pak authorities have confirmed the group's claim.
The rebel group, which took up arms in 2012 to fight for what it says are the rights of Iran's minority Sunni population, is active in the restive Sistan-Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
province that borders both Pakistain and Afghanistan.
In November it grabbed credit for killing a local prosecutor, a month after its rebels killed 14 Iranian border guards in an ambush.
UN Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
condemned in a Tuesday statement the reported killing as an "appalling act" and urged that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
A front man for the US State Department, Alan Eyre, called for the "swift release" of the kidnapped soldiers while expressing hope the reported execution -- that came as Iran was celebrating its Persian New Year, Nowruz -- was not true.
Shortly after the abduction, Iranians launched a campaign on Twitter, despite the micro-blogging service being banned in Iran.
Demanding the soldiers' release, the FreeIranianSoldiers hashtag went viral in February.
Some Iranians have used social media to hit out at the Tehran government for its inability to bring home the young soldiers, who were serving their 24-month mandatory military service.
Border guards chief Hossein Zolfaghari has admitted that there was "negligence" in the lead-up to the kidnapping, saying those responsible were suspended, with some facing prosecution.