ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Wednesday told his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian that Pakistan reserved the right to respond to Iran’s “provocative act” of attacking inside its territory.
Jilani, who is currently leading the Pakistan delegation to the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Kampala, Uganda, made these remarks as he received a telephone call from the Iranian foreign minister, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO).
The foreign minister firmly underscored that the attack conducted by Iran inside Pakistani territory, on January 16, 2024, was not only a serious breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty but was also an egregious violation of international law and the spirit of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran.
Expressing Pakistan’s unreserved condemnation of the attack, the foreign minister said that the incident has caused serious damage to bilateral ties between Pakistan and Iran.
“Pakistan reserved the right to respond to this provocative act,” the statement quoted Jilani as saying.
Stressing that terrorism was a common threat to the region and required concerted and coordinated efforts to combat the menace, the foreign minister underlined that unilateral actions could seriously undermine regional peace and stability. No country in the region should tread this perilous path, he added.
The strikes, which Tehran described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl, in the Panjgur district of Balochistan killed two “innocent children” and wounded three girls.
‘Targeted Iranian terrorist group in Pakistan’
Earlier in the day, Tehran’s top diplomat said that his country’s armed forces targeted an “Iranian terrorist group” in Pakistan the day before.
“None of the nationals of the friendly and brotherly country of Pakistan were targeted by Iranian missiles and drones,” FM Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
