Pakistan responded strongly to an Iranian airstrike on Balochistan, its troubled southwestern province, but nearby nations urged both parties to exercise restraint and avoid further escalation.
China, which maintains strong ties with both Iran and Pakistan, announced it is closely monitoring the situation and hopes both parties exercise restraint to avoid further tension escalation. A foreign ministry spokeswoman stated this wish.
Pakistan’s response to Iran’s attack
Pakistan announced on Wednesday it conducted “a series of highly coordinated and precisely targeted precision military strikes” against militant hideouts in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan Province, killing multiple people. Pakistan has long battled separatists in Balochistan which borders Iran for years and is often accused of supporting terrorist organizations such as Jaish al-Adl. Israel recently waged war against Hamas while Houthi rebels from Yemen attacked ships in the Red Sea – two key tension points.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry stated on Thursday that its attack was in response to “credible intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activities.” They stressed their respect for Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity while their action served as a “manifestation of unflinching resolve” to safeguard national security.
Islamabad responded quickly and decisively after Iran’s strike by downgrading relations and recalling their ambassador and barring Iran’s from returning. Additionally, interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar cut short his trip to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum Davos to deal with this crisis, telling Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian that Pakistan will not tolerate Iran’s actions.
Analysts believe Islamabad felt compelled to respond to Iran’s airstrikes, widely seen as reprisals for an attack against its forces in Balochistan which killed two children and injured many more. While they warn this escalation raises the risk of regional conflict, it could also defuse tensions if both parties take measures to ease tensions.
The United States and other Western nations have called on both sides to exercise restraint and avoid any possible escalation of tensions. China, a strong ally of both nations, urged them to use existing channels of communication as means to do this – its spokeswoman indicated she was keeping an eye on it closely but would not offer details as to how.
Iran’s response to Pakistan’s attack
Pakistan and Iran had long accused each other of harboring separatist groups who attack from regions along their shared borders, with Pakistan responding by acting on credible intelligence that large-scale terrorist activities were imminent and that it reserving its right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against threats to its sovereignty and territorial integrity. With Thursday’s strikes, both countries further escalated tensions by attacking each other from separate bases along their shared border regions. Both Pakistan and Iran announced on Thursday’s strikes that they acted due to credible intelligence that large scale terrorist activities were imminent with Pakistan citing credible intelligence of large scale terrorist activities coming from regions along their shared borders whereas Iran released statements accusing each country of harbouring separatist groups within its borders whereas both claimed to host separatist forces from hiding regions along its shared borders causing attacks from regions located therein while Iran reserved the right “defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any threats.”
Islamabad announced six missiles and drones had struck at six houses belonging to Jaish al-Adl, an armed group claiming to be fighting for an independent Baluchistan province that spans parts of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. Militants reported two children and an adult woman killed; activist group HalVash provided video footage showing burned buildings with bodies scattered about.
Hossein Amirabdollahian, Iran’s foreign minister, strongly rejected claims that his nation was targeting civilians with its strike against a militant hideout in Pakistan’s Sistan-Baluchistan province, explaining it was intended to strike against separatist groups that attacked Iranian police forces last December. Amirabdollahian noted: “As friendly countries, we respect each country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Attacks were seen as an effort by Iran to punish Pakistan for its retaliatory action against Iranian targets in the region and deter further actions taken by Islamabad. One day earlier, Pakistan called back its ambassador from Tehran in moves which suggested they wanted to avoid full-scale escalation of tensions.
Some hardline groups in Pakistan called for a military response to Iran’s raids, with one parliamentary panel leader encouraging Islamabad to petition the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation of their behaviour. But others, like veteran Senator Mushahid Hussain of Sindh province called on Pakistani politicians and authorities to remain calm: “Pakistan must be mature and measured in its response,” said Mushahid Hussain to reporters, saying that any conflict would only destabilise regional stability further. China, an important close ally to both nations has called upon both nations to exercise restraint and respect each other’s sovereign rights and territorial integrity while China demanded both nations exercise restraint as both nations agreed upon mutual obligations under international treaties between nations to ensure each nation respect each others sovereignty and territorial integrity by all sides – who it closely cooperate with one another while maintaining independence in all respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty over time and space when responding in situations that arises between states when responding aggressively or directly engage.
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