Pakistan strongly condemned Iran’s missile attack in Balochistan on Wednesday, terming it an “unprovoked breach of sovereignty.” In an official statement, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry declared the air strike, targeting what Iran claimed were bases of a Sunni militant group, as an illegal act.
Islamabad said the responsibility for “consequences is squarely placed on Iran.” Pakistan announced the suspension of all ongoing and planned high-level visits and the recall of its ambassador from Iran. The Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan, currently abroad, has been advised not to return temporarily.
“Last night’s unprovoked and blatant breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty by Iran is a violation of international law and the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. This illegal act is completely unacceptable and has no justification whatsoever. Pakistan reserves the right to respond to this illegal act. The responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran,” the ministry said in a statement on its official Facebook handle.
“We have conveyed this message to the Iranian Government. We have also informed them that Pakistan has decided to recall its ambassador from Iran and that the Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan who is currently visiting Iran may not return for the time being. We have also decided to suspend all high level visits which were ongoing or were planned between Pakistan and Iran in coming days,” it added.
Pakistan said that Iran carried out an air strike on its territory that killed two children, after Tehran launched attacks in Iraq and Syria against what it called “anti-Iranian terrorist groups”. Iranian news agency Mehrnews said the “missile and drone response” targeted the Jaish al-Adl group’s headquarters in Pakistan, calling it “another decisive step taken by Iran in response to the aggression against the security of our country”.
Formed in 2012, Jaish al-Adl is blacklisted by Iran as a terrorist group and has carried out several attacks on Iranian soil in recent years. The strike came after Iran launched missile attacks on “spy headquarters” and “terrorist” targets in Syria, and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. The Iranian strikes add to multiple crises across the Middle East, with Israel waging a war against Hamas in Gaza and pro-Palestinian Houthi rebels in Yemen attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
China, close partners of Iran and Pakistan, urged restraint, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning saying both should “avoid actions that would lead to an escalation of tension”. Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for an attack in December on a police station in Rask that killed at least 11 Iranian police officers.
The US has also labelled Jaish al-Adl a terrorist organisation, saying the group “primarily targets Iranian security personnel” but also government officials and civilians with assassinations, kidnappings, and suicide bombings. Tehran and Islamabad frequently accuse each other of allowing militants to operate from the other’s territory to launch attacks.
(With agency inputs)
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