Pakistan’s action after Iran’s missile attack, Recalls Ambassador to Iran

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Pakistan’s action after Iran’s missile attack, Recalls Ambassador to Iran

Pakistan The attack on Tuesday, coupled with tensions between Iran and Iran, jeopardized political relations between the two neighbours, but both sides appeared wary of provoking the other. Iran and Pakistan have been suspicious of each other in terms of support, particularly due to partisan attacks.

According to Geo News, after the missile attack by Iran Pakistan Taking major action, it expelled the Iranian ambassador. Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, PAkistan has decided to recall its ambassador from Iran and the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, who is currently visiting Iran, cannot return at the moment.

Pakistan recalled its ambassador from Tehran on Wednesday, a day after Iran launched air strikes on Pakistan that it claimed targeted targets of the militant Sunni separatist group. Islamabad angrily condemned the attack, calling it a “gross violation” of its airspace and saying it killed two children.

The attack also threatens to spark violence in the Middle East, fueled by Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Iran launched strikes in Iraq and Syria late Monday over suicide bombings claimed by the Islamic State group that killed more than 90 people earlier this month. Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch announced that Islamabad was recalling the country’s ambassador to Iran over the attacks.

“The unprovoked and flagrant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty by Iran last night is a violation of international law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,” he said in a televised address. Baloch said Pakistan asked the Iranian ambassador, who was visiting Tehran at the time of the attack, not to return. Iran did not immediately accept Pakistan’s decision. China on Wednesday urged Pakistan and Iran to show “restraint” after the attack.

“We call on both sides to exercise restraint, avoid actions that escalate tensions, and work together to maintain peace and stability,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a regular briefing. “We consider both Iran and Pakistan as close neighbors and major Islamic countries,” he said. Iranian state media reports, which were later retracted without explanation, said the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard targeted targets belonging to the terrorist group Jaish al-Adl, or “Army of Justice.”

The group, which wants an independent Balochistan and has spread into Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, acknowledged the attack in a statement shared online. Six bomb-carrying drones and rockets attacked the houses, which the militants claimed housed the children and wives of their fighters. Jaysh al-Adl said two children were killed and two women and a teenage girl were injured in the attack. Video shared from the site, purportedly by Baloch activist group Halwash, shows a burning building and two charred, small bodies.

Pakistani intelligence reports said the two children killed were a 6-year-old girl and an 11-month-old boy. Three women, aged between 28 and 35, were injured. The report also said that three or four drones were fired from the Iranian side, which struck a mosque and a house, among other buildings.

Balochistan province spokesman Jan Achakzai also condemned the attack. “Pakistan has always sought cooperation from all countries in the region – including Iran – to fight terrorism,” “This is unacceptable and Pakistan has the right to respond to any aggression carried out against its sovereignty.” A senior Pakistani security official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists, said Iran had not shared any information before the attack.

He said Pakistan reserves the right to respond at a time and place of the country’s choice and such an attack would be measured and in line with public expectations. “The dangerous precedent set by Iran is destabilizing and will have reciprocal effects,” the official said. However, there were indications that Pakistan was trying to prevent any anger over the attack. The country’s normally vocal and nationalist media covered Wednesday’s attack with unusual restraint. Meanwhile, Iranian state media did not address the attacks.

Instead they discussed the joint naval exercise conducted by Pakistan and Iranian navies in the Persian Gulf on Tuesday. Pakistani officials acknowledged the practice, but said it occurred before the Iranian attacks. Pakistani defense analyst Syed Muhammad Ali said the government would carefully consider any possible retaliatory action. The country’s air defense and missile systems have been deployed primarily along the eastern border to respond to potential threats from India.

But it may consider taking some measures to respond to such attacks from its western border with Afghanistan and Iran, Ali said. Jaish al-Adl was founded in 2012, and Iranian officials believe it operates largely in Pakistan. The group has claimed responsibility for bombings and kidnapping members of Iran’s border police in the past. In December, suspected Jaish al-Adl members killed 11 people and wounded eight others in a nighttime attack on a police station in southeastern Iran. Another recent attack killed another police officer in the area.

In 2019, Jaysh al-Adl claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing targeting a bus, which killed 27 members of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Iran suspects that Sunni-majority Pakistan is hosting the rebels, possibly at the behest of its regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia. However, Iran and Saudi Arabia reached a peace deal brokered by China last March, reducing tensions. Meanwhile, Pakistan has blamed Iran for terrorist attacks targeting its security forces in the past

Iran has fought against terrorists in the border areas, but the missile and drone attack on Pakistan is unprecedented. It is unclear why Iran attacked now, especially when its foreign minister had met Pakistan’s acting Prime Minister at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on the same day. Following the Islamic State group’s bombings this month, Iran’s intelligence ministry alleged that the two attackers involved in the attack had come into Iran from Afghanistan through its southeastern border at the Jalga crossing – meaning they had traveled from Baluchistan.

Pakistan’s Balochistan province, as well as Iran’s neighboring Sistan and Baluchistan province, have faced a low-level insurgency by Baloch nationalists for more than two decades. They initially wanted a share of the provincial resources, but later started a rebellion for independence.

Conflict between Pakistan and Iran: Issues related to terrorism

The recent conflict between Pakistan and Iran has jeopardized the political and security relations between the two countries. One of the main reasons behind this is terrorism and insurgency taking place in the border areas.

Iran’s paramilitary guards recently targeted a terrorist group in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, increasing tensions between the two countries. Iran considered the attack an attempt to crack down on the base of Jaish al-Adl, a separatist group that demands independence for Balochistan.

Terrorism from Pakistan:

There is another issue behind this conflict, which is related to terrorism. There are allegations of many terrorist groups originating from Pakistan that they are providing support to terrorist activities in Iran. This problem points to growing suspicion and existential crisis between the two countries.

Feedback and Objections:

Pakistan has reacted strongly against this attack by Iran and immediately recalled its ambassador. Islamabad viewed the attack negatively, saying it violated international law and the UN Charter.

China has also appealed to maintain peace in this matter and urged both the countries to exercise restraint. He has said that both Iran and Pakistan have strong and cooperative relations and they should work jointly.

At this time, the situation of this conflict is very serious and a solution is being sought. Both the countries should try to resolve this issue through understanding and jointness so that stability can be maintained in the region as well as joint efforts can be made against terrorism.

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