New Delhi: The Pakistan Air Force reportedly carried out retaliatory airstrikes on purported Baloch separatist camps situated within Iran on Thursday, as per several media reports. The strikes were said to be directed at hideouts within Iranian territory housing Baloch militants sought by Pakistan.
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Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in an official statement said, “This morning Pakistan undertook a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Siestan-o-Baluchistan province of Iran.”
“Over the last several years, in our engagements with Iran, Pakistan has consistently shared its serious concerns about the safe havens and sanctuaries enjoyed by Pakistani origin terrorists calling themselves ‘Sarmachars’ on the ungoverned spaces inside Iran,” the statement added.
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According to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, “a number of terrorists” were killed during the intelligence-based operation known as “Marg Bar Sarmachar”. However, Iranian media said that the incident claimed the lives of seven individuals, four of them were children.
The strikes comes a day after Tehran said it used “precision missile and drone strikes,” to destroy two “important headquarters” of Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) in Pakistan. Following this Islamabad denounced the violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty as “completely unacceptable” and warned of serious consequences.
Earlier, Pakistan’s caretaker Foreign Minister, Jalil Abbas Jilani in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian underscored that the January 16 attack conducted by Iran inside Pakistani territory was not only a serious breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty but was also an egregious violation of international law and the spirit of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar met the Foreign Minister of Iran, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, around the same time, the Iranian government announced targeting Jaish Al Adl basis inside Pakistan through drone and missile strikes.
Attacks on Pakistan came after Iran launched missiles in northern Iraq and Syria on Monday. Iran’s foreign ministry defended the strikes by the Revolutionary Guards in Iraq and Syria, labelling them as a “precise and targeted” operation aimed at deterring security threats, CNN reported.
The US condemned Iran’s recent strikes in Iraq, Syria and Pakistan. US Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller said Iran, in the past couple of days, has violated the sovereign borders of three of its neighbours.
According to Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani, the strikes targeted a “terrorist headquarters” in Idlib, Syria, and a “Mossad-affiliated centre” in Erbil, Iraq. Kanaani emphasised the precision of the operation, stating that ballistic missiles were used to identify and strike the “headquarters of criminals.”