Pakistan on Wednesday expelled Iran’s ambassador and recalled its ambassador from Tehran in response to Iranian airstrikes on Pakistani soil.
Relations between the two countries have been strained since Iranian airstrikes on Tuesday killed two children and injured three girls.
Islamabad strongly condemned the attack as a “blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty”. The Pakistani government announced that it “reserves the right to respond to this illegal act”, and this announcement was followed by the expulsion of the Iraqi ambassador and the recall of the Pakistani ambassador.
A statement from Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the Iranian government has been informed, Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan is currently in Iran and will not be allowed to return to Pakistan.
The statement also said that the Pakistani government had decided to “suspend all high-level visits that have taken place or were planned between Pakistan and Iran in the coming days.”
“The responsibility for the consequences lies solely with Iran,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Iran’s government news agency “Nour” reported on Tuesday evening that an airstrike destroyed the Pakistani headquarters of the jihadist group “Jaish al-Adl” (“Army of Justice”) in Balochistan province in southwestern Pakistan. The strike was carried out “with missiles and drones”, Nour said.
The missiles hit about 45 kilometers into Pakistani territory, targeting a compound next to a mosque in Panjgur district.
“Pakistan has always said that terrorism is a common threat to all countries in the region that requires coordinated action,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
It also said that such unilateral actions are incompatible with good neighborly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust.
Iran defended its attacks.
“We respect Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday. “But we’re not going to let them play with our country’s national security.”
The minister also said that the Iranian attacks did not target civilians.
Pakistan recently signed four agreements with Iran on intelligence sharing, joint operations against militants, prisoner exchange and border control.
The “Jaish al-Adl” group, established in 2012, has carried out several attacks in the territory of Iran in recent years. Tehran has declared it a terrorist group.
Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for the December attack in Rasq, southeast Iran near the border with Pakistan, in which at least 11 policemen were killed.
2024-01-18 11:08:24
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