- FO spokesperson states Pakistan reserves right to respond to this illegal act
- China calls on both sides to exercise restraint, avoid actions that lead to an escalation of tension
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday decided to recall its ambassador from Iran and suspend all high-level visits ongoing or planned between the two countries following the “unprovoked violation of its airspace” by Tehran with the latter claiming it targeted an “Iranian terrorist group” and “none of the nationals of the friendly and brotherly country.”
The development comes after the FO, in a statement released late on Tuesday night, denounced the strikes in Pakistani territory that resulted in the “deaths of two innocent children while injuring of three girls”. It termed the incident a “violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty”.
While the FO did not mention the location of the incident, Iranian state media said the attack took place in the border town of Panjgur in Balochistan.
Iran’s state-run Nour News agency said the attack destroyed the Pakistan headquarters of the Jaish al-Adl.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said the “focal point of this operation was the region known as Kouh-Sabz (green mountain)” in Balochistan.
“Two key strongholds of the Jaysh al-Dhulm (Jaish al-Adl) terrorist group in Pakistan” were “specifically targeted and successfully demolished by a combination of missile and drone attacks”, the Tasnim news agency said.
Local authorities said they had also received information about such an attack but had no further details. Reports from the area suggested that a missile hit a mosque, partially damaging it and injuring some people.
According to AFP, hours before the attack, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar had met Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Amid escalating situation, China urges for “restraint”
Speaking at a regular briefing on Wednesday, China Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said: “We call on both sides to exercise restraint, avoid actions that would lead to an escalation of tension and work together to maintain peace and stability.”
“We consider both Iran and Pakistan as close neighbours and major Islamic countries,” she added.
It must be noted that both Iran and Pakistan are close partners of Beijing and members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation — a political and security union of countries spanning much of Eurasia, including China, India and Russia.
In a press briefing in Islamabad today, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said last night’s “unprovoked and blatant breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty by Iran” was 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,” she asserted.
🔴LIVE: Statement by the Spokesperson on Unprovoked Violation of its Air Space https://t.co/2tktEAcdst
— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) January 17, 2024
“Pakistan reserves the right to respond to this illegal act and the responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran,” Baloch said, adding that Islamabad had conveyed the 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,” she said.
Baloch added that Islamabad had decided to suspend all high-level visits which were ongoing or were planned between Pakistan and Iran in the coming days.
Iran claims targeted ‘terrorist group in Pakistan’
Meanwhile, Tehran’s top diplomat has alleged that his country’s armed forces targeted an “Iranian terrorist group” in Pakistan later Tuesday night.
“On Pakistan, none of the nationals of the friendly and brotherly country of Pakistan were targeted by Iranian missiles and drones,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“The so-called Jaish Al Adl group, which is an Iranian terrorist group, was targeted,” he added.
Amir-Abdollahian said Iran’s attack on “Pakistan’s soil” was a response to the Jaish Al Adl group’s recent deadly attacks, particularly on the city of Rask in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan.
“The group has taken shelter in some parts of Pakistan’s Balochistan province,” he claimed, adding that “we’ve talked with Pakistani officials several times on this matter”.
The foreign minister said Iran respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan but would not “allow the country’s national security to be compromised or played with”.
Earlier, Iran’s Deputy President for Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Hosseini claimed Pakistan had been warned “that they must prevent the entry into Iran of people who kill large numbers of people, it was natural to have the reaction of the Islamic republic”.
Delegation leaves border meeting with Iran midway
Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s delegation at the Pak-Iran Joint Border Trade Committee left a meeting in Chabahar midway, Gwadar Deputy Commissioner Aurangzeb Badini told the media.
He said the meeting of the Chabahar Free Zone Business Exhibition was subsequently postponed. The Pakistani side was led by Balochistan Chief Collector Abdul Qadir Memon and DC Badini, with officials of the chamber of commerce of Quetta and Gwadar in attendance.
Badini said both sides were expected to hold consultations on a number of issues and sign several memorandums. However, the delegation left the meeting midway over the “infiltration of Pakistani borders by Iranian authorities” and the FO directions that followed later, the official stated.
On the other hand, interim Balochistan Chief Minister Mardan Khan Domki has announced compensation for the heirs of those killed and injured in last night’s incident.
‘Unacceptable and condemnable’
The incident also triggered condemnations from across Pakistan.
In a post on social media platform X, caretaker Balochistan Information Minister Jan Achakzai expressed disappointment and said terrorism was a common threat to all countries in the region that required coordinated action.
“Such acts of air space violations by Iran undermine neighbourly relation, trust and renewed trade linkages established with Balochistan,” he added.
