In Pakistan’s border town of Panjgur in the Balochistan region, two bases of the Balochi militant group Jaish al Adl were reportedly the target of Iranian strikes on Tuesday night.
According to Pakistan’s foreign ministry office, the Pakistani military launched a series of “highly coordinated” retaliation attacks against “terrorist hideouts” inside Iran on Thursday morning. The attacks took place in Pakistan’s Balochistan province two days after Iran launched missile and drone strikes there.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on Thursday stating, “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.” According to the report, several terrorists were slain in the intelligence-driven operation known as “Marg Bar Sarmachar.”
According to Iranian media, multiple missiles struck a village in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan, which borders Pakistan, killing four children, all of whom were not Iranian.
Pakistan said in a statement that it had previously discussed “concerns about safe havens” with Iran, but that country had done nothing to address the matter. “In our interactions with Iran over the past few years, Pakistan has continuously expressed its grave concerns regarding the safe havens and sanctuaries that terrorists with Pakistani ancestry who go by the name Sarmachars enjoy on Iran’s ungoverned territories. Additionally, Pakistan provided numerous dossiers with verifiable proof of the existence and actions of these terrorists, the statement stated.
Nevertheless, these so-called Sarmachars proceeded to kill innocent Pakistanis with impunity as a result of the inaction on our grave concerns. The operation taken this morning was prompted by reliable information that these so-called Sarmachars were planning large-scale terrorist attacks, Pakistan continued.
Pakistan’s unwavering determination to safeguard and defend its national security against all threats is demonstrated by this measure. “Pakistan will continue to take all necessary steps to preserve the safety and security of its people, which is sacrosanct, inviolable, and sacred,” the statement read. “The successful execution of this highly complex operation is also a testimony to the professionalism of the Pakistan Armed Forces.”
Ties downgraded
The two countries’ relations have been downgraded as a result of Iran’s strikes, and Pakistan has reserved the right to reciprocate, according to Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesman for the Foreign Office. Additionally, Jalil Abbas Jilani, the foreign minister of Pakistan, informed Hossein Amir Abdollahian, his counterpart in Iran, that the incident had severely strained relations between the two countries.
According to a report in the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, she declared, “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.”
Panjgur, a border town in Pakistan’s Balochistan region, was the site of two sites used by the Balochi militant group Jaish al Adl, according to reports of the Iranian strikes on Tuesday night.
