The Pakistani military has attacked targets in Iran with missiles. According to the Foreign Ministry, it was an attack against “terrorists.” Two days ago, Iran justified its own attacks on Pakistan in the same way.
Two days after Iranian attacks on Pakistani territory, Pakistan shelled targets in the Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry spoke of a targeted attack against “anti-Pakistani militant groups.” According to the deputy governor of Sistan-Baluchestan, several people are said to have been killed as a result of the shelling.
According to the Iranian news agency Mehr, it was said to have been a drone and missile attack that targeted the area around the city of Saravan, near the border between Pakistan and Iran. The deputy governor of Sistan-Balochistan said on Iranian state television that three women and four children were killed in a village. The information cannot be independently verified.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed “a series of highly coordinated and targeted precision military attacks” on Pakistani territory. These were said to be extremists, without the authorities providing any specific information as to which group they were. Several “terrorists” were killed in the attack.
Pakistan had previously received “credible information about impending large-scale terrorist activities,” the Foreign Ministry said. The attack on Sistan-Balochistan was “an expression of Pakistan’s unwavering determination to protect and defend its national security against all threats.” At the same time, the authority assured that Pakistan “fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Iran also spoke of an attack extremist group
Iran justified its own attacks on Pakistan on Tuesday night by saying it had attacked the extremist rebel militia Jaish al-Adl. This is classified as a terrorist organization by Iran and the USA. According to its own statements, the Sunni group is fighting for an independent Baluchistan and is active in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. According to Pakistani sources, two children were killed in the attacks.
Before the attack on Pakistani territory, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had already attacked targets in neighboring Iraq and Syria with missiles. The attacks are a response to previous attacks in Iran.
Pakistan withdraws ambassador
In response, the Pakistani government withdrew its ambassador from the Iranian capital Tehran and warned that Pakistan “reserves the right” to respond to “this illegal act” by Iran. At the same time, the Iranian ambassador Resa Amira Moghaddam, who was in his homeland at the time, was prohibited from returning to Pakistan.
The renewed tensions threaten the recently cautious rapprochement between the two countries. It was only on Tuesday that the Iranian and Pakistani foreign ministers met for talks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian emphasized in Davos that his country “respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan.” At the same time, he defended the attack on Pakistani territory.
Peter Hornung, ARD New Delhi, tagesschau, January 18, 2024 7:40 a.m