Pakistan warned Iran on Wednesday of “serious consequences” after Iran attacked terrorist camps in Pakistan’s troubled Balochistan province with missiles and drones in a way that had never been done before. The attacks killed two children and hurt three others.
Tuesday, Iranian state media reported that missiles were fired at two bases of the Balochi terrorist group Jaish al Adl in Pakistan. This came a day after Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards fired missiles at targets in Iraq and Syria.
The Foreign Office said that Islamabad also called the Iranian charge d’affaires here and strongly condemned Iran’s “violation of its airspace.”
The Middle East is already tense because of Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and Iran’s attack could make things worse.
“Two key strongholds of the Jaysh al-Dhulm (Jaish al-Adl) terrorist group in Pakistan” were “specifically targeted and successfully demolished,” the Tasnim news agency in Iran said.
The agency called the area that was attacked “Green Mountain” and said that missiles and drones were used to hit the bases.
The Dawn newspaper said that the militant group Jaish al-Adl has attacked Iranian security troops in the area near the border with Pakistan in the past.
The attack was strongly criticized by Pakistan’s Foreign Office, which called it a “unprovoked violation of its airspace” by Iran. It said that two kids were killed and three others were hurt in the attack.
The Foreign Office said, “Pakistan strongly condemns the violation of its sovereignty.” They also said it was “completely unacceptable” and could have “serious consequences.”
It was also worried that the “illegal act took place even though there are several established channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran.”
Pakistan also called the Iranian ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to say that it strongly disagreed with this flagrant breach of sovereignty.
“A strong protest has already been sent to the upper level official in charge at the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran.” The Iranian charge d’affaires has also been called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to tell them that we strongly condemn this blatant breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty and that Iran will be held fully responsible for the results, the statement said.
There was no word of where the deaths happened by the Foreign Office of Pakistan. But it’s thought that the bases were in Panjgur, which is in the region of Balochistan.
Authorities in Panjgur chose not to talk about the attacks, but some people told them that missiles hit a mosque and hurt civilians and damaged it partly.
“Pakistan has always said that terrorism is a threat to all countries in the region and that they need to work together to stop it.” “One-sided actions like these are not in line with good neighborly relations and can seriously hurt trust and confidence between the two countries,” the Foreign Office said.
What is Jaish al-Adl? It means “Army of Justice” and is a Sunni terrorist group that was formed in 2012 and does most of its work in Pakistan. Iran has fought terrorists along its borders before, but an attack on Pakistan with missiles and drones would be something Iran has never done before.
According to Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, at least 11 police officers were killed in an overnight attack on a police station in the southeastern province of Sistan-Balochistan last month. The attack was put on the Jaish al-Adl.
He said that the Jaish terrorists came into Sistan from Pakistan, close to Panjgur.
Balochistan, a difficult province, has become a hotspot for terror attacks over the years. Many banned religious extremist and separatist groups have used its land to attack Pakistan’s security forces and facilities.
