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Pakistan on Tuesday “strongly” condemned an unprovoked violation of its airspace by Iran, describing it as “completely unacceptable” and warning of “serious consequences.”
According to Iranian state media, Tehran targeted with drones and missiles the bases of the Jaish al-Adl terrorist organization allegedly based in Pakistan, destroying the group’s headquarters. “Two key strongholds of the [Jaish al-Adl] terrorist group in Pakistan” were “specifically targeted and successfully demolished by a combination of missile and drone attacks,” claimed Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. According to local officials, the assault targeted and damaged a mosque in Balochistan’s Panjgur town.
There have been several exchanges between Pakistan and Iran concerning Jaish al-Adl in recent weeks. Last month, interim Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani called his Iranian counterpart to condemn a terrorist attack in southeastern Iran that killed several Iranian security personnel and reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to help Tehran combat terrorism. Ahead of the talk, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi urged Pakistan to prevent terrorist groups from establishing bases within its borders, adding initial investigations suggested the assailants had entered Iran from Pakistan.
In its response, Pakistan’s Foreign Office regretted that Iran’s violation of Islamabad’s airspace had killed two innocent children and injured three girls. “This violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty is completely unacceptable and can have serious consequences,” it warned.
“It is even more concerning that this illegal act has taken place despite the existence of several channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran,” it said, noting a “strong protest” had already been lodged with the concerned senior official at the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran.
“Additionally, the Iranian Charge d’Affaires has been called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey our strongest condemnation of this blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and that the responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran,” it added.
Reiterating Pakistan’s longstanding stance of terrorism being a common threat to all countries in the region that required coordinated action, the Foreign Office warned that “such unilateral acts are not in conformity with good neighborly relations and can seriously undermine bilateral trust and confidence.”
In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Sherry Rehman also condemned the attack, stressing Pakistan had thus far acted with restraint. “This needs to be understood as strategic maturity, not kinetic weakness. Secondly, such strikes erode Muslim unity at an existential moment of great need for jointly navigating forums for cooperation while the tragic and painful genocide in Gaza at the hands of Israel continues with impunity,” she continued. Maintaining that de-escalation would require Tehran to understand that violence and conflict is exactly what non-state actors and terrorists seek, she warned Iran’s actions had facilitated their goals.
“Pakistan has no stakes in fanning the flames of such conflict, but will obviously have to respond if better sense does not prevail,” she added.