Islamabad [Pakistan], January 17 (ANI): Pakistan termed the Iranian airstrike as an ‘unprovoked’ and ‘blatant’ breach of its sovereignty and said that Iran violated international law, Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday.
Pakistan also affirmed its right to respond against Iran and said that Tehran would be responsible for further consequences.
“Last night’s unprovoked and blatant breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty by Iran is a violation of international law and the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,” Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement.
The statement read further, “This illegal act is completely unacceptable and has no justification whatsoever. Pakistan reserves the right to respond to this illegal act. The responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran.”
Pakistan also recalled its ambassador from Tehran and expelled the Iranian envoy over its response to the attack.
The statement said, “We have conveyed this message to the Iranian Government. We have also informed them that 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. We have also decided to suspend all high-level visits which were ongoing or were planned between Pakistan and Iran in coming days.”
Meanwhile, former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was “shocked at the Iranian breach of Pakistani sovereignty,” Geo News reported.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president wrote: “This missile attack is against spirit of our friendship and principles of good neighbourliness, especially as it undermines the historic relationship between our two countries.”
The former premier insisted that conducting sincere dialogue and meaningful cooperation between Iran and Pakistan was the need of the hour. He also offered condolences to the families who lost their loved ones in the attack.
Earlier, Iran attacked the headquarters of a terrorist group opposed to Tehran with drones and missiles in Pakistan on late hours of Tuesday, Al Arabiya News reported citing Tasnim news agency.
Formed in 2012, Jaish al-Adl, designated as a “terrorist” organisation by Iran, is a Sunni terrorist group that operates in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, Al Arabiya News reported.
Over the years, Jaish al-Adl has launched numerous attacks on Iranian security forces. In December, Jaish al-Adl took responsibility for an attack on a police station in Sistan-Balochistan that claimed the lives of at least 11 police personnel, according to Al Arabiya News reported.
Sistan-Balochistan borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. The region has a history of clashes between Iran’s security forces and Sunni terrorists, as well as drug smugglers, Al Arabiya News reported.
Dawn news reported that last month, at least 11 Iranian police officers were killed in an attack overnight on a police station in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan. Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, while visiting the site, had urged Pakistan to prevent terrorist groups from establishing bases within its borders.
The attacks in Pakistan were carried out a day after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched missiles into Iraq’s Kurdistan region at what it called an Israeli “spy headquarters” and at alleged ISIS-linked targets in Syria, the report said. (ANI)
