In a shocking development, Iran, on Tuesday, launched attacks in Pakistan on the pretext of targeting, what it called, bases for militant group Jaish al-Adl in the border town of Panjgur in Balochistan. Tehran claimed that a combination of drone and missile attacks eliminated two strongholds of the terrorist group but authentic reports confirm it killed two innocent children and injured three girls. Attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty and integrity is such a heinous crime that it has dented government-to-government and people-to-people relations beyond repair and might have serious consequences.
While embarking upon the path of so-called pre-emptive strikes Iran under-estimated reaction of people of Pakistan whose sentiments were represented in a prompt and strong condemnation by Pakistan Foreign Office, which, in a late night statement, warned that there could be consequences of the unprovoked and totally unacceptable action.
The announcement for the Iranian ambassador not to return and the recalling of the Pakistani ambassador from Iran came as a very strong response from Pakistan. It is highly deplorable that Pakistan has all along been trying to maintain smooth and cordial relations with Iran but Tehran never demonstrated the same level of sincerity and commitment to have good neighbourly relations.
On a number of occasions in the past, the Iranian side not only issued threatening and derogatory statements against Pakistan but also killed personnel of law-enforcing agencies in cross-border firing. While Pakistan always exercised extreme restraints, Iranians repeatedly indulged in behavior that amounted to direct and naked interference in Pakistan’s purely internal matters.
Other sects face acute discrimination in Iran as Sunnis are refused permission to build their own mosques in Tehran and offer Eid prayers but reaction of the Iranian leadership to the process of Islamization in Pakistan in 1980s strained relations between the two countries. Similarly, Iranians stabbed Pakistan in the back when the country was facing external pressure vis-à-vis its nuclear programme as Tehran accused Pakistan’s legendary scientists Dr. A.Q. Khan of assisting Iran in its quest for acquisition of nuclear weapons. Iran also keeps on pressuring Pakistan on the issue of IP gas pipeline project despite knowing fully well that Islamabad was unable to proceed ahead for implementation of the agreement in this regard because of global sanctions against Iran.
It is also a reality that while Iran expects Pakistan to have stringent border controls in Balochistan, which is virtually impossible because of the porous border and paucity of resources, Iran itself has closed its eyes to free-for-all smuggling of Iranian oil and other products on this side of the border harming Pakistan’s economy profusely.
It is also a matter of record that Iran is hosting Indian agents to spy on Pakistan (memories are still afresh of the KulbhushanJadhav episode) besides sponsoring Baloch militant groups like BLA and BLF that have camps inside Iran and are freely planning and executing terrorist activities inside Pakistan. It may be pointed out that Iran carried out air attacks in Pakistan a day after its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRCG) launched pre-emptive strikes in Iraq and Syria, after which Baghdad recalled its ambassador from Tehran for consultations and summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires in protest over Iranian missile strikes.
Iran’s latest posture and extreme policy approach forces one to believe it has gone berserk and is terribly mistaken about its stature and ability. Pakistan has all along been demonstrating extreme caution and restraint in its dealing with Iran not because of the lack of the capability to respond in kind but other considerations and the latest action of Tehran should serve as a strong message that Islamabad’s policy towards Iran needs a thorough revision. It is not the responsibility of Pakistan alone to avoid bitterness in bilateral relations because it takes two hands to clap. As for Jaish-al-Adl, is being run by the IRGC itself.
Now they want to get rid of this problem, that’s why a false statement was issued from Jaish-ul-Adl again that these rockets went across the border by mistake and actually the target was Jaish al-Adl camp inside Sistan, Iran. It is very ridiculous that a terrorist organization itself is giving explanations for rockets fired by the IRGC, accidentally crossing the border. This clearly shows that the accounts attributed to Jaish-ul-Adl are being operated by IRGC and Iranian intelligence itself. Circumstances clearly prove that the entire responsibility of this attack is on the Iranian government, IRGC and Iranian intelligence. Despite the existence of multiple channels of communication between the two countries, the operation was carried out contrary to international law, which clearly violated Pakistan’s airspace. A fake press release was also issued on behalf of Jaish-ul-Adl to justify the incident. Seeing Pakistan’s reaction, Iran realized its wrong and foolish action. But this realization doesn’t seem to be sincere as Iran’s civil and military leaderships have been hurling threats on Pakistan whenever the group allegedly carries out attacks against Iranian targets. If Iran’s claims about presence of the group also in border areas of Pakistani Balochistan are true then it may also be known that the terrorist outfit has no support or cooperation from Pakistan.
In case Iran had sufficient and actionable intelligence reports about the presence of so-called ‘strongholds’ of the group in Pakistan, it should have shared the information with Pakistan authorities as the country has a track record of zero tolerance for all kinds of terrorists on its soil. Pakistani forces are fully capable of tackling the threat but regrettably Iran chose to indulge in an action that has harmed bilateral relations and poisoned the hearts of Pakistani people.
The Pakistan Foreign Office has done well by lodging a strong protest and conveying sentiments of people of Pakistan to the Iranian government but the issue must not be left at that and should lead to overall revision of policy towards Iran. After this incident, certain political factions used social media for their political gains and to malign the Pakistan Army. Indian accounts also took part in this malicious campaign, helping certain political groups of Pakistan. As a result of the latest demonstration of Iranian enmity towards Pakistan, the entire Pakistani nation is now demanding a strong and similar response from the state. Pakistan reserves the right to respond in any way.
There are reasonable expectations that Pakistan will not adopt the approach by Iraq and Syria in responding to such incidents and will take every measure for its national security and integrity that reflects the feelings and sentiments of the Pakistani nation. Respect for good neighbourly relations and peaceful co-existence notwithstanding, there can’t and shouldn’t be any compromise on national security issues and this aggression by Iran should be responded in kind.
