Pakistan has strongly condemned an Iranian cross-border attack that killed two “innocent children” and wounded three others, calling it an “unprovoked violation of its airspace” and warning of “serious consequences.”
Iran confirmed on Tuesday, January 16 that it used “precision missile and drone strikes,” to destroy two strongholds of the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl, in the Koh-e-Sabz region of Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchestan province.
Established in 2012 as a separatist group in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province, Jaish al-Adl, also known as the “Army of Justice,” has claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks against Iranian military personnel and officials in the past. The Sunni militant group claims to fight for the independence of Iran’s Sistan and Balochistan province. In February 2019, the militant group carried out a suicide bombing on a bus transporting members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province, killing 27 and injuring 13 others. In December 2023, the group claimed responsibility for an attack in Iran’s Rask region, killing at least 11 Iranian police officers.
Iran accuses Pakistan of not doing enough to prevent Jaish al-Adl from carrying out cross-border attacks against the country. However, Pakistan has consistently denied such accusations in the past.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan stated that the violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty is “completely unacceptable” and can have serious consequences. “It is even more concerning that this illegal act has taken place despite the existence of several channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran,” the ministry said. “Such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighborly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence,” it added.
In a press briefing in Islamabad on Wednesday, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Iran’s cross-border attack constitutes a breach of international law and the principles outlined in the United Nations Charter. “This illegal act is completely unacceptable and has no justification whatsoever. Pakistan reserves the right to respond to this illegal act and the responsibility for the consequences will lay squarely with Iran,” she said.
Baloch also announced that Pakistan has decided to recall its ambassador from Iran and suspend all ongoing or planned high-level visits between the two countries. Additionally, the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, currently in Iran, may not return for the time being.
The attack took place a day after similar Iranian strikes on multiple targets in Syria and Iraq’s Kurdistan region. According to Iranian state media, IRNA, the attacks in Iraq destroyed “one of the main headquarters of Israel’s spying agency, Mossad” and a “gathering of anti-Iranian terrorist groups” in Arbil, the capital of Kurdistan region in Iraq. The attack killed four people and wounded six others.
Iraq condemned the incident as an “attack on its sovereignty” which it described as “Iranian Aggression”. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq recalled its ambassador from Tehran for consultation. It also summoned Iran’s envoy in Iraq in protest at the attack, noting that the missile strikes had “claimed civilian lives”.
In a separate statement, the ministry stated that it has taken a further step by filing a complaint against Iran at the United Nations Security Council, emphasizing that Iran’s actions go against international law and pose a threat to the security of the region.
The United States strongly condemned Iran’s missile strikes in Kurdistan as “reckless”, warning they undermine Iraq’s stability. “We oppose Iran’s reckless missile strikes, which undermine Iraq’s stability. We support the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s efforts to meet the aspirations of the Iraqi people,” Matthew Miller, the US State Department spokesperson, said in a statement.
