Summary: Saturday, October 3, 1998, a Pakistan court sentenced two Islamic
extremists to death. They were charged with mudering two Iranian engineers
in February, 1998, who at the time were working in Karachi on a bridge
contruction project. Five other suspects had been arrested.

The suspects were believed to be Sunni extremists. Most Iranians are Shiite
Muslims. There had been violent clashes between Sunni and Shiite muslims in
1998, causing huadreds of deaths. There had been several attacks on
Iranians Shiites working in Pakistan by Sunni muslims. This had affected
the diplomatic relationship between the two countries. Iran recalled some
of its diplomats in Pakistan for security concerns.