Iran attacks Pakistan: Pakistan on Wednesday condemned Iran's "unprovoked violation of airspace" via massive missile and drone attacks that killed two children and injured three girls. A statement released by Pakistan's Foreign Ministry after midnight warned that the incident could have "serious consequences" and was "completely unacceptable".
Iran launched massive attacks Tuesday targeting what it described as bases inside Pakistan for the militant group Jaish al-Adl. This comes after Iran launched similar attacks in Iraq and Syria, potentially raising tensions in a Middle East already roiled by Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Notably, this happened when Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar met Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Andollahian at the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos.
Jaish al-Adl is a Sunni militant group which largely operates across the border in nuclear-armed Pakistan. "These bases were hit and destroyed by missiles and drones," Iranian state media reported, without elaborating. Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that two “important headquarters” of Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) in Pakistan were “destroyed.”
Pakistan expressed concern that the “illegal act” took place despite the existence of several established channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran, adding that a “strong protest has already been lodged with the concerned senior official in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran", reported Dawn.
Pakistan summons Iran's charge d'affaires
Additionally, the Iranian Charge d’affaires was summoned to Pakistan's foreign ministry to raise "strongest condemnation of this blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and that the responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran", said the Foreign Office.
The Foreign Office of Pakistan did not mention the location where the casualties took place. However, it is suspected that the bases were in Balochistan. "Pakistan has always said terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region that requires coordinated action. Such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighbourly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence," further read the statement.
Last month, at least 11 Iranian police officers were killed in an attack overnight on a police station in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan. Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, while visiting the site, had urged Pakistan to prevent terrorist groups from establishing bases within its borders, according to Iranian media.
Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian had strongly condemned the terrorist attack and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to Iran in combating terrorism.
Why did Iran attack Pakistan?
According to al-Arabiya News, the militant group was formed in 2012 and is designated as a “terrorist” organization by Tehran. It has a history of launching multiple attacks on Iranian security forces over the years. According to Iranian media, a police station in Sistan-Baluchistan was attacked wherein at least 11 policemen were killed. Later, the group claimed responsibility for the attack.
It is worth mentioning the latest development came on the same day when Iran's Revolutionary Guards announced that they attacked "Israeli spy headquarters" in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region as a regional conflict as well as against the Islamic State in Syria. The attacks came amid fears of an escalation of the Israel-Hamas war with the entry of Iran from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, also drawing the attention of the United States, Iran's staunch rival and Israel's closest ally.
(with inputs from agencies)
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