IRAN’S unprovoked intrusion into the Pakistani territory (17 Jan), thereby violating Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity—spurred the sentiments of Pakistani defence forces. On Thursday, in a calculated response to Iran’s unwarranted, unwise and miscalculated strikes into the Pakistani territory of Balochistan, Pakistan carried out its operation Marg Bar Samachar as the Pakistani forces launched a “series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes” in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Balochistan province’’. Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Wednesday denounced the “unprovoked and blatant breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty”.
In early hours of Wednesday local time, Iran’s IRGC launched missiles and drones against targets in Pakistani province of Balochistan, in an operation that Iran said was against two bases of the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl. Yet notably, on Tuesday, hours before the airstrikes, Iran and Pakistan had a joint military exercise in the Persian Gulf, according to Iran’s official news agency IRNA, and Iran’s Foreign Minister met Pakistan’s Caretaker Prime Minister on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Before counting on its military response, Pakistan had already warned Tehran on Wednesday it was recalling its ambassador to Iran and suspending all bilateral engagements with the country to protest an overnight “unprovoked” deadly cross-border airstrike by Iranian security forces. The Iranian Government said, the missile and drone attack targeted the Jaish al-Adl group in Pakistan. Tehran also launched attacks in Iraq and Syria against what it called “anti-Iranian terrorist groups”. Meanwhile, Washington condemned the Iranian strikes in Pakistan, Iraq and Syria, with State Department spokesman Matthew Miller saying Tehran had violated the “sovereign borders of three of its neighbours in just the past couple of days”.
Pakistan’s warranted military response: Islamabad had conveyed to the government in Tehran that the strikes were a “blatant breach” of Pakistan’s sovereignty and a violation of international law. “We have also informed them that Pakistan has decided to recall its Ambassador from Iran and that the Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan who is currently visiting Iran may not return for the time being,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. She added that Islamabad had also suspended “all high-level visits which were ongoing or were planned between Pakistan and Iran in the coming days.” Pakistan fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Ministry added in its statement. “The sole objective of today’s act was in pursuit of Pakistan’s own security and national interest, which is paramount and cannot be compromised. Iran accused Pakistan of harbouringJaish al-Adl, a Sunni militant group responsible for attacks on Iranian soil. Pakistan countered with similar claims, pointing to Iranian support for Baloch separatists within its borders. Over the last several years, in our engagements with Iran, Pakistan has consistently shared its serious concerns about the safe havens and sanctuaries enjoyed by Pakistani origin terrorists calling themselves ‘Sarmachars’ on the ungoverned spaces inside Iran. Pakistan also shared multiple dossiers with concrete evidence of the presence and activities of these terrorists,” it noted.
A history of bilateral Pak-Iran relationship: Tehran and Islamabad share more than 900 kilometres of border while sharing many mutual geopolitical, cultural and religious interests.—marked by the changing situation in Afghanistan, corridors of communication, the trafficking of arms, humans and narcotics, the issue of refugees, the fight against terrorism, and both countries’ relations with China. Retrospectively, the cross-border tensions between Islamabad and Tehran sharply rose in April 2017 on the issue of the Jaish al-Adl group.
Whereas, Pakistan has constantly shared its warranted concern with the Iranian Government regarding the BLF and BLA ‘terrorists ‘network active in the Iran-affiliated territory. Therefore, Pakistan’s current operation launched in the Iranian territory (Jan 18) has been against the BLA and BLF operatives. It has been the first occasion that Tehran has blatantly violated Pakistan’s sovereignty. Needless to say, respecting the sanctity of sovereignty of each other, must be the core diplomatic value of both the states—Iran and Pakistan. Need of bilateral diplomatic understanding: And yet both sides must realise the positively changing dynamics in the western border region highly characterised by the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, particularly the China-Iran comprehensive cooperation agreement. Thus, instead of promoting trust deficit, there is an inevitable need that Pakistan and Iran should turn the relationship into a closer partnership. Against this backdrop, both Iran and Pakistan must adopt a mutual approach to regional issues and make a new strategic partnership with Russia and China. Moreover, China and Japan have offered to mediate between Pakistan and Iran after the two countries conducted airstrikes at each other. “The Chinese side sincerely hopes that the two sides can exercise calm and restraint and avoid an escalation of tension,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said, adding, “We are also willing to play a constructive role in de-escalating the situation if both sides so wish.”
The growing Mideast tensions: Pakistan doesn’t side with the US conjecturing that ‘’Iran-backed groups form a land bridge across the Middle East and connect in an alliance that Tehran calls the “Axis of Resistance. “That includes Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen’’. As for Pakistan’s Mideast policy it has been maintaining a semblance of neutrality in a volatile Mideast power politics. On the one hand, it has distanced itself from the growing superpower rivalry in the region while on the other, it has prevented from indulging into the cobweb of Sunni-Shia split in the region.
As for the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Pakistan upholds an out-all stance that it stands with the people of Palestine and thus, Islamabad wants an unconditional ceasefire of the ongoing war in Gaza. Needless to say, for unity, dignity and stability in the ranks of Ummah, both Islamabad and Tehran must devise a policy of rapprochement vis-à-vis the current crisis. This issue accompanying conflagration between the two sides, must be amicably resolved. Any escalation between two neighbourly countries will further intensify the Mideast crisis situation.
—The writer, an independent ‘IR’ researcher-cum-international law analyst based in Pakistan, is member of European Consortium for Political Research Standing Group on IR, Critical Peace & Conflict Studies, also a member of Washington Foreign Law Society and European Society of International Law. He deals with the strategic and nuclear issues.
Email: [email protected]
views expressed are writer’s own.
