Pakistani authorities have released eleven Iranian border police forces who were hunting down fuel smugglers and crossing into Pakistani territory mistakenly.

A Pakistani police official said the Iranians were freed after investigation.

The Iranian border police were detained after opening fire at wheels of the smugglers' car near Iran-Pakistan border, Pakistani officials said on Monday.

Meanwhile, a border commander in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan Province told the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) that after the smugglers' car was stopped, Iranian border police moved to arrest them.

Gholam-Nabi Kouhkan added that at the same time Pakistani border police arrived in the scene and arrested the Iranian forces and the smugglers.

Based on a joint border protocol between Iran and Pakistan, Pakistani and Iranian police forces can enter particular parts of the two countries' territory to hunt down and arrest intruders and criminals.

SF/DT