Davos: A day after Iran carried out attacks on Pakistan, Tehran admitted the anti-terrorist operation and affirmed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards only targeted terrorists on the soil of Pakistan. While speaking in Davos, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, claimed that no Pakistani citizens had been targeted. He said that the target was limited to members of Jaish al-Adl.
“We only targeted Iranian terrorists on the soil of Pakistan,” BBC quoted the Iranian minister as saying.
According to Abdollahian, he had spoken to his Pakistani counterpart and “assured him that we do respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan and Iraq.”
Iran attacks Pakistan
The statement from Tehran came a day after Iran launched massive attacks targeting what it described as bases inside Pakistan for the militant group Jaish al-Adl–a Sunni militant group which largely operates across the border in nuclear-armed Pakistan. According to the Pakistani government, the missile infiltrated their airspace and killed at least two children.
Notably, Tehran’s staunch action on the Panjgur region coincided with a meeting between the Iranian Foreign Minister and caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar on the sideline of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
According to al-Arabiya News, the militant group was formed in 2012 and is designated as a “terrorist” organization by Tehran. It has a history of launching multiple attacks on Iranian security forces over the years. According to Iranian media, a police station in Sistan-Baluchistan was attacked wherein at least 11 policemen were killed. Later, the group claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Breach of Pakistani airspace”
Meanwhile, the foreign ministry, during a press conference, called Tehran’s action an “unprovoked and blatant” breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty. It termed the move as 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. Pakistan reserves the right to respond to this illegal act,” said the foreign ministry.
Later today, Islamabad recalled its ambassador from Iran and the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan who is visiting Iran will not be allowed to come back. “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,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said while addressing a press briefing in Islamabad.