Daily Times

Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Wednesday told his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian that Pakistan reserved the right to respond to Iran’s “provocative act” of attacking inside its territory.

Jilani, who is currently leading the Pakistan delegation to the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Kampala, Uganda, made these remarks as he received a telephone call from the Iranian foreign minister, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office (FO).

The foreign minister firmly underscored that the attack conducted by Iran inside Pakistani territory, on January 16, 2024, was not only a serious breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty but was also an egregious violation of international law and the spirit of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran.

Expressing Pakistan’s unreserved condemnation of the attack, the foreign minister said that the incident has caused serious damage to bilateral ties between Pakistan and Iran.

“Pakistan reserved the right to respond to this provocative act,” the statement quoted Jilani as saying.

Stressing that terrorism was a common threat to the region and required concerted and coordinated efforts to combat the menace, the foreign minister underlined that unilateral actions could seriously undermine regional peace and stability. No country in the region should tread this perilous path, he added. The strikes, which Tehran described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl, in the Panjgur district of Balochistan killed two “innocent children” and wounded three girls.

Earlier, Pakistan recalled its ambassador from Iran and blocked Tehran’s envoy from returning to Islamabad. “This illegal act is completely unacceptable and has not justification whatsoever. Pakistan reserves the right to respond to this illegal act and the responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran,” said FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a brief statement. The spokesperson also added that Islamabad would suspend all high-level diplomatic exchanges with Tehran following the violation of the country’s sovereignty and added that the Iranian envoy to Pakistan, who is currently visiting Iran, will not be allowed back in the country.

The strikes were launched the day Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar met with the Iranian foreign minister on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. The Iranian president’s point man for Afghanistan was also in Islamabad, recently. Soon after the attack, Pakistan’s strong protest was lodged with the concerned senior official in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran, while Iran’s charge d’affaires was summoned by the foreign ministry.