Pakistan Army says it used drones, rockets to hit Baloch militant groups in Iran

Diplomatic relations between Iran and Pakistan have hit a new low after both countries carried out strikes against each other claiming to have targeted 'terrorist' groups. Iran has summoned Pakistan envoy to Tehran while Pakistan military says it used killer drones and other weapons to carry out strikes against hideouts of Baloch 'terrorists' inside Iran.

New Delhi: Pakistan military Thursday said it used multiple weapons, including killer drones, to carry out effective strikes against hideouts inside Iran used by militants of two leading Baloch terrorist groups responsible for recent attacks in the country.

"The precision strikes were carried out using killer drones, rockets, loitering munitions and stand-off weapons. Maximum care was taken to avoid collateral damage, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing. It said that "hideouts used by terrorist organisations namely Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) were successfully struck in an intelligence-based operation codenamed Marg Bar Sarmachar'."

The targeted hideouts were being used by notorious terrorists including Dosta alias Chairman, Bajjar alias Soghat, Sahil alias Shafaq, Asghar alias Basham and Wazir alias Wazi, amongst others, it said. It asserted that Pakistan Armed Forces remain in a perpetual state of readiness to ensure safety of Pakistan citizens against acts of terrorism.

"Our resolve to ensure that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan is respected and safeguarded against any misadventure, remains unwavering. We reaffirm our determination to defeat all enemies of Pakistan with the support of the people of Pakistan, the ISPR said. However, it also said that for going forward, dialogue and cooperation is deemed prudent in resolving bilateral issues between the two neighbouring brotherly countries.

Meanwhile, shortly after Pakistan's retaliatory airstrikes, Iran summoned the Pakistani envoy to Tehran and has asked for an explanation for the attacks. Iran's official news agency 'IRNA' reported that nine people were killed in the attack targeting a village in the city of Saravan, with Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi saying all the dead were foreign nationals.

Earlier, Pakistan condemned Iran's airstrikes and lodged a strong protest with the concerned senior official in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran. Additionally, the Iranian Charge d'affaires was also called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey the strongest condemnation of the "blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and that the responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran".

China offers to play a constructive role to ease tensions

China Thursday offered to play a "constructive role" to ease tension between Pakistan and Iran following their missile strikes against each other over the last two days and asked the two countries to "exercise restraint and calmness and avoid escalation".

The attacks have put China in a piquant situation as Pakistan is an all-weather ally, while Tehran is warming up to Beijing in recent years enabling China to expand its influence in the West Asia region. China also imports a considerable amount of oil from Iran. "Did you say that Pakistan launched strikes on Iran? I'm not aware of this, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a media briefing when asked whether China is aware of Pakistan airstrikes inside Iran.

"But we are paying great attention to this and China always believes that relations between countries should be handled based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law, Mao said. Sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected and protected, she said.

"Iran and Pakistan are close neighbours and countries with influence. We hope both parties can exercise restraint and calmness and avoid escalation if they need we are ready to play a constructive role in easing the situation, she said.

Reacting to the tensions between Iran and Pakistan, India's Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday said: "In so far as India is concerned, we have an uncompromising position of zero tolerance towards terrorism. We understand actions that countries take in their self-defense".

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