New Delhi: The Pakistani Air Force Thursday carried out strikes against suspected militant targets within the Iranian territory, according to a statement released by its foreign office spokesperson. The air strike came after Iran admitted to hitting targets in the province of Balochistan in Pakistani territory Tuesday.
“A number of terrorists were killed during the Intelligence-based operation — codenamed “Marg Bar Sarmachar”…Pakistan has consistently shared its serious concerns about the safe havens and sanctuaries enjoyed by Pakistani origin terrorists calling themselves “Sarmachars” on the ungoverned spaces inside Iran,” said the Pakistani statement.
It added: “This morning’s action was taken in light of credible intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activities by these so-called Sarmachars.”
Pakistan had earlier condemned the “unprovoked” violation of its airspace Tuesday that resulted in the death of two children and injured three girls, according to a statement published by its Foreign Office Wednesday.
“This violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences…Pakistan has always said terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region…Such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighbourly relations,” said the foreign office statement.
The retaliatory strike by Pakistan was aimed at targets in the province of Sistan and Baluchistan in Iran, according to the Pakistani foreign office spokesperson. The local deputy governor of the region “confirmed” to the Iranian news agency IRNA that several blasts were heard near Saravan City.
Iran claimed that its drone and missile strikes Tuesday evening in Pakistani territory were aimed at the militant outfit Jaish al-Adl – an extremist Sunni militant group considered by Iran as a terrorist organisation and designated by the US State Department as a “foreign terrorist organisation”.
The Iranian strikes on Pakistan came a day after Tehran attacked Mossad [Israeli intelligence agency] positions in Iraqi Kurdistan and the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) positions in Idlib province in Syria, as claimed by Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian during the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos Wednesday.
Following the strikes in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, Islamabad barred the Iranian ambassador from returning to Pakistan, recalled its ambassador from Tehran and suspended all planned high level delegations with Iran, according to a statement by Mumtaz Baloch, the Pakistani foreign office spokesperson.
Baloch Wednesday further added that Pakistan “reserves the right to respond to this illegal act and the responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran”.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: Iran’s dramatic airstrikes on Pakistan have brought Middle East proxy war too close to home
Islamic Unity, anyone?
They either fight among themselves or start a fight with someone else.
Terror is there in their DNA