Pak Hits Back At Iran With Missile Strikes Day After Attacks That Killed 2 in Balochistan: Report

New Delhi: Pakistan on Thursday launched retaliatory attack, targeting Baloch militant groups based in Iran, claimed local media reports. The attack follows Pakistan's warning to Tehran of "serious consequences" in wake of missile attacks on militant bases in Balochistan that killed two. 

There is no formal confirmation yet, but according to local media outlets and some Twitter handles, Pakistan launched multiple missiles and conducted airstrikes against Baloch separatist factions, namely the Balochistan Liberation Front and the Balochistan Liberation Army, marking a significant escalation in the conflict, reports claimed.  

Earlier, Pakistan strongly condemned Iran's airstrikes in Balochistan and asserted that the incident was "completely unacceptable", expelling the Iranian ambassador and recalling its envoy from Tehran. Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister, Jalil Abbas Jilani informed his Iranian counterpart that Islamabad has a ‘right to respond.' 

Iran's Attack Targeted ‘Only Terrorists’ 

Iranian authorities clarified that they only targeted terrorists and not civilians through missile attacks in Balochistan. While speaking at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, claimed that no Pakistani citizens had been targeted. The Iranian minister said he had spoken to his Pakistani counterpart and "assured him that we do respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan and Iraq."

Provincial officials in Pakistan said two children were killed and several others injured in strikes near the Iran border. The violation was unprovoked and unacceptable, said Pakistani foreign ministry spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch. Pakistan reserved “the right to respond to this illegal act”, a message it had conveyed to the Iranian government, she said. Pakistan would not allow Iran’s ambassador, currently visiting his home country, to return, Baloch said.

Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar: Pakistan Confirms Strikes In Iran

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan, confirmed the missile attacks in Iran through an official release. “This morning Pakistan undertook a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Siestan-o-Baluchistan province of Iran. A number of terrorists were killed during the Intelligence-based operation – codenamed ‘Marg Bar Sarmachar,'” it reads.