The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday “strongly condemned” the terrorist attack from across the Pakistan-Iran border in Balochistan’s Panjgur district on Wednesday evening in which four security personnel were martyred.
During a weekly press briefing today, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, “Pakistan strongly condemns the terrorist attack from across the Iran border.”
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) , militants used Iranian soil to “target a convoy of security forces patrolling along the border” yesterday. Following the attack, Iran had been asked to hunt down the terrorists on their side, the ISPR had said.
Baloch asserted today, “Terrorists used the territory of Iran [to conduct the attack]. We hope that Iran would take an action against the responsible factors.”
She said: “We strongly commit that our territory will not be used for undertaking cross-border attacks in Iran and we expect the same from Iran.”
The spokesperson further said that both countries have “exemplary brotherly relations”.
Separately, Baloch announced that the foreign minister would be visiting Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent on Jan 25.
Referring to the recent clarification on the premier’s statement regarding talks with India, she said, “Pakistan condemns India’s atrocities in Kashmir on every level.”
The spokesperson added, “Pakistan wants better relations with all neighbouring countries including India [but] India should create an environment that makes it clear that it is not involved in terrorism.”
Baloch also said Foreign Affairs Secretary Dr Asad Majeed Khan was currently on an official trip to Belgium.
She added that a parliamentary delegation from Belgium was also paying an important visit to Pakistan during which, it would visit the Parliament House, Lahore and the flood-affected areas of Pakistan.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations, militants “targeted a convoy of security forces patrolling along the border.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the incident, saying “nation pays homage to the sacrifices of their martyred soldiers in line of duty”.
President Arif Alvi and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari denounced the attack as well.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb expressed her deep grief over the deaths of the four security forces.
In a statement, she said that the terrorists intend to harm bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran, however “our morale is high and our security forces are determined to defeat the terrorists”, Pakistani media reported her as saying.
The Iranian Embassy in Islamabad also condemned a terrorist attack in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province that left four security personnel dead earlier in the day.
The embassy in a statement said that terrorism is a common problem facing Iran and Pakistan, with both neighboring countries being victim of that “evil phenomenon.”
The Iranian diplomatic mission in Pakistan’s capital also expressed sympathy with the families of the victims of the terror attack that took place in Balochistan’s Panjgur district.
