New Delhi: Pakistan has carried out airstrikes on suspected Baloch separatist bases in Iran, in a tit-for-tat response to Iran’s earlier attack on Pakistani territory. The Pakistani media, quoting sources, reported that the airstrikes targeted the locations of Baloch militants who were involved in cross-border attacks on Pakistan. The move comes after Iran claimed that it had launched missiles and drones at the bases of Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni militant group that operates from Pakistan and has carried out several attacks inside Iran.
Pakistan denied Iran’s claim and said that the Iranian strike killed two children and injured three others in an “unprovoked violation” of its airspace. The incident has sparked a diplomatic row between the two neighbours, who have long had tense relations over security and sectarian issues.
Pakistan’s foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani called his Iranian counterpart and conveyed his strong protest over the attack, saying that it was “a serious breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty, international law and the spirit of bilateral relations”.
Pakistan also recalled its ambassador from Iran and prevented the Iranian envoy from returning to Islamabad. The escalation of the conflict between Iran and Pakistan comes at a time when the region is already witnessing heightened tensions, with Israel and Hamas engaged in a war in Gaza.
Iran, which supports Hamas and other militant groups in the region, has also carried out strikes on Iraq and Syria in recent days, after a twin suicide bombing by the Islamic State killed more than 90 people in Iran. Iran has said that it does not want to get involved in a wider war, but has vowed to defend itself against any aggression.ZN