ISLAMABAD: Amid increased tension in the region and cross-border incursions, the foreign ministers (FM) of Pakistan and Iran spoke over the phone for the second time on Friday.
Pakistan and Iran FMs contact: According to a statement from the Foreign Office, FM Jalil Jilani discussed Pakistan’s willingness to collaborate with Iran on any matter by telephone with Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran’s counterpart.
The statement said, “He [FM Jilani] underscored the need for closer cooperation on security issues.”
Jalil Jilani, Pakistan’s acting foreign minister, stated earlier in the day that Islamabad was not interested in raising tensions with Iran, a neighbour. He spoke these things on the phone with Turkiye’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan.
The Foreign Office stated in a post on X that the two talked about the current developments between Iran and Pakistan. FM Jilani discussed the current events and Pakistan’s viewpoint.
He claimed that the target of Pakistan’s Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar was terrorist camps located within Iran.
Less than 48 hours after Iran breached Pakistan’s airspace, Pakistan targeted terrorist hideouts in the Sistan-Baluchestan province of Iran.
The military’s media affairs division released statement stating that an intelligence-based operation, dubbed “Marg Bar Sarmachar,” targeted hideouts used by terrorist organizations, namely Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
Notable terrorists like Dosta alias Chairman, Bajjar alias Soghat, Sahil alias Shafaq, Asghar alias Basham, and Wazir alias Wazi, among others, were using the targeted hideouts, it continued.
The ISPR stated that Pakistani Armed Forces are always prepare to protect their country’s population against terrorist attacks.
Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi claimed that all nine victims of the attack, which targeted a village in the city of Saravan, “were foreign nationals.” The news agency IRNA published the incident’s results.
Iran launched attacks in Pakistan on Tuesday, allegedly targeting sites for the militant group Jaish al-Adl in the Balochistani border town of Panjgur. Islamabad strongly condemned the assault and downgraded diplomatic ties.
Pakistan calls back its envoy
The Foreign Office (FO) stated that Islamabad has announced the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador and the withdrawal of its envoy from Tehran in response to Iran’s breach of Pakistani airspace.
Furthermore, FO spokesman Mumtaz Zahrah Baloch wrote on Facebook, “Pakistan reserves the right to respond to this illegal act and the responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran.”
“Pakistan has chosen to summon back its Iranian envoy, and the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, who is presently in Iran, might not come back for the time being.
“Iran violated international law and the goals and tenets of the United Nations Charter last night with its unwarranted and flagrant invasion of Pakistan’s sovereignty.
However, The Iranian government has received this message from us. Further, We’ve let them know about that as well. The spokesperson issued a statement, saying, “We have also decided to suspend all high level visits which were ongoing or were planned between Pakistan and Iran in the coming days.”