Pakistan military retaliates with strikes against Iran: Reports

Islamabad: The Pakistan Air Force on Thursday conducted retaliatory airstrikes on alleged Baloch separatist camps inside Iran, according to multiple media reports.

According to the reports, the retaliatory strikes by Pakistan Air Force targeted hideouts located inside Iranian territory of Baloch militants wanted by Pakistan.

The move comes a day after Tehran said it used “precision missile and drone strikes,” to destroy two “important headquarters” of Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) in Pakistan. Following this Islamabad denounced the violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty as “completely unacceptable” and warned of serious consequences.

Salman Masood, the editor of a Pakistan local daily and Pakistan correspondent of New York Times took to X on Wednesday to post, “Pakistan Air Force has conducted airstrikes on Baluch separatist camps inside Iran. The move comes a day after Iran claimed to have targeted militants inside Pakistani territory, a claim rejected by Pakistan, citing civilian casualties.”

Meanwhile, another Pakistani local daily also reported today that hideouts of Baloch militants wanted by Pakistan have been targeted in Iran.

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s caretaker Foreign Minister, Jalil Abbas Jilani in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian underscored that the January 16 attack conducted by Iran inside Pakistani territory was not only a serious breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty but was also an egregious violation of international law and the spirit of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran.

Expressing Pakistan’s unreserved condemnation of the attack, Jilani added that the incident has caused serious damage to bilateral ties between Pakistan and Iran.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar met the Foreign Minister of Iran, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, around the same time, the Iranian government announced targeting Jaish Al Adl basis inside Pakistan through drone and missile strikes.

Formed in 2012, Jaish al-Adl, designated as a “terrorist” organization by Iran, is a Sunni terrorist group that operates in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, Al Arabiya News reported.

Over the years, Jaish al-Adl has launched numerous attacks on Iranian security forces. In December, Jaish al-Adl took responsibility for an attack on a police station in Sistan-Balochistan that claimed the lives of at least 11 police personnel, according to Al Arabiya News reported.

Tuesday’s attacks on Pakistan comes after Iran launched missiles in northern Iraq and Syria on Monday. Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday defended the strikes by the Revolutionary Guards in Iraq and Syria, labelling them as a “precise and targeted” operation aimed at deterring security threats, CNN reported.

According to Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani, the strikes targeted a “terrorist headquarters” in Idlib, Syria, and a “Mossad-affiliated centre” in Erbil, Iraq. Kanaani emphasised the precision of the operation, stating that ballistic missiles were used to identify and strike the “headquarters of criminals.”