Actor Parviz Parastuii has asked people around the world to sign a petition for the release of the five Iranian border guards who were kidnapped by the Pakistani rebel group Jaish al-Adl in early February.

We need one million signatures to send the petition to the UN,” he told the MNA on Thursday.

“Sometimes, we need to unify peacefully to cope with hard times when they come about to the public,” he stated

Parastuii appeared last week on “90”, Iran’s most popular TV program on soccer, and along with the anchor Adel Ferdowsipur announced the launch of the petition, which has been organized jointly by the Tehran Peace Museum and groups of Iranian celebrities.

So far, the petition, which can be found on this address: www.petitions24.com/free_iranian_soldiers, has collected over 200,000 people from Iran and other countries.

Last week, thousands of Iranian actors, directors, producers and screenwriters also issued a statement asking the United Nations, international leaders and the government of Pakistan to take action to return the five Iranian border guards.

In addition, groups of cultural figures and university professors have also asked for the release of the border guards in separate statements.

Jaish al-Adl posted photos of the five men on twitter, claiming responsibility for the abduction.

Jaish al-Adl’s name was raised for the first time in October when they killed 14 Iranian border guards in an ambush near the city of Saravan in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan.

News ID 186385