Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called on Iran to quickly catch them behind the killing of eight Pakistani citizens near the Pak-Iran border in Sistan.

The men, car mechanics of business, were closed down at a workshop in Mehrestan district near the border with Afghanistan, Iranian media reported. Six victims were from Khanqa Sharif, Bahawalpur, while two came from Ahmedspur Sharqia.

By calling the incident a “abhorrent terrorist act”, Prime Minister Shehbaz demanded that Iranian authorities reveal the motives behind the attack and punish the perpetrators.

“Terrorism is still a serious threat to the entire region,” Prime Minister Shehbaz said in a statement, calling on neighboring countries to formulate a common strategy against extremism.

The leading instructed Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry to contact the victims’ families and provide immediate support. He also instructed the embassy in Tehran to arrange rapid repatriation of the bodies.

Family members of the victims have appealed to the government for help to bring the remains home.

The attack comes in the midst of the effort to repair bilateral relations between the two countries after a short period of cross -border tensions earlier this year.

In a similar attack last year, nine Pakistanis were killed in a firing event near the border, a day after both countries resumed diplomatic ties after a brief strain.