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TODAY'S PAPER | JANUARY 19, 2024

Counterstrike on militant hideouts in Iran evens

score
Baqir Sajjad Syed | Saleem Shahid | Published January 19, 2024 | Updated about 2 hours ago

0:00 / 10:06 1x 1.2x 1.5x

A SCREEN grab, obtained

from a social media video,
shows people gather near
rubble in the aftermath of
Pakistan military’s strike on
militant hideouts in an
Iranian village near
Saravan, Sistan-
Baluchestan province, on
Thursday.—Reuters
• Nine killed in ‘precision strikes’ on ‘BLA, BLF
camps’; security beefed up in border districts
• Tehran terms move ‘unacceptable’
• NSC to meet today as PM cuts short Davos visit
• China offers mediation, hopes for restraint from
both sides
• Biden says strikes show Iran not ‘well-liked’

ISLAMABAD / QUETTA: Pakistan launched retaliatory

strikes on Thursday against targets within Iranian
territory, aiming at facilities linked to purported
Pakistani Baloch separatist groups.

The tit-for-tat attack came within 48 hours after

Tehran said it struck the bases of another group within
Pakistani territory.

However, by the end of Thursday, officials from both

countries engaged in conciliatory overtures, signalling
a mutual interest in de-escalating and containing the
heightened tensions.

Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch

provided the initial official acknowledgement of the
early Thursday morning operation, stating, “This
morning, Pakistan’s armed forces executed
meticulously planned and coordinated strikes against
terrorist strongholds in Iran’s Sistan-o-Baluchistan
province.”

The operation, dubbed RELATED

‘Marg Bar Sarmachar’,

specifically aimed at the
banned Balochistan
Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation
Front (BLF), resulted in nine casualties, all identified
as Pakistani nationals.

In the Persian language, “marg bar” means “death to”,

while “sarmachar” in the Baloch language means
fighter or guerilla and is used by armed groups
operating in the cross-border region.

Pakistan’s action was in retaliation to the Islamic

Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) recent attacks on
what Iran deems as Jaish al-Adl bases in Pakistan, a
part of a broader pattern of Iranian strikes in Syria
and Iraq, purportedly in response to militant attacks in
the country in recent weeks.

Intelligence sources disclosed that Pakistani forces

engaged at least seven militant sites in the vicinity of
the Saravan region, situated around 80 kilometres
from the Pakistan-Iran border. The weapon systems
employed in these precision strikes included an array
of advanced weaponry, such as killer drones, rockets,
loitering munitions, and fighter jets.

Notably, the fighter jets deployed stand-off, extended-

range munitions, enabling them to engage targets
while remaining within Pakistani airspace. The Inter-
Services Public Relations (ISPR) detailed that the
targeted locations were utilised by militants identified
as Dosta alias Chairman, Bajjar alias Soghat, Sahil alias
Shafaq, Asghar alias Basham, and Wazir alias Wazi,
among others.
Ms Baloch emphasised that the strikes were a pre-
emptive action against looming large-scale attacks,
reportedly orchestrated by Pakistani militants
harboured in Iran. She said Pakistan had substantial
intelligence evidence to support the claim of attacks
being planned.

Spokesperson MoFA
@ForeignOfficePk · Follow

LIVE: Spokesperson's Weekly Press Briefing 18-01-24 at Ministry of

Foreign Affairs, Islamabad

Watch on X

Prior to resorting to military action, Islamabad had

already reduced diplomatic ties with Tehran,
signalling its disapproval by recalling its own
ambassador and expelling the Iranian envoy from
Pakistan.

The persistent issue of militant hideouts along the

border has historically marred Pakistan-Iran relations,
with occasional limited countermeasures by Tehran on
Pakistani territory. Nonetheless, the recent surge in
hostilities represented a significant and unparalleled
escalation.

Ms Baloch expressed strong disapproval of Iran’s

apparent indifference to Pakistan’s repeated warnings
and intelligence sharing regarding the militants’
havens. “This operation is a testament to Pakistan’s
unwavering dedication to safeguarding national
security against all forms of threats,” she said.

Desire for de-escalation

Following the kinetic response, both the Foreign Office

and the Pakistani Army expressed a desire for de-
escalation.

Ms Baloch, during her weekly media briefing,

emphasised that Pakistan was not interested in
escalating tensions. “We believe in dialogue and
cooperation as key tools for addressing common
challenges, including terrorism. Our aim is to continue
engaging with our neighbour to fight this threat and
uphold peace,” she said.

The ISPR echoed this sentiment, advocating for

dialogue and cooperation as prudent approaches to
resolving issues between the two neighbouring
countries.

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meanwhile,

summoned the highest-ranking Pakistani diplomat in
Tehran for an explanation of the attacks.

In a statement, the ministry condemned Pakistan’s

“unbalanced and unacceptable drone attack on non-
Iranian villagers”.

However, it said Iran “adheres to the policy of good

neighbourliness and brotherhood between the two
nations and the two governments of the Islamic
Republic of Iran and Pakistan” and “does not allow
enemies to strain the amicable and brotherly relations
of Tehran and Islamabad”.

It said Iran considered the security of its people and its

territorial integrity “as a red line” and expected “the
friendly and brotherly government of Pakistan” to
adhere to its obligations in preventing the alleged
establishment of bases and the deployment of “armed
terrorist groups” on its soil.

The ministry also emphasised that Iran “differentiates

between Pakistan’s friendly and brotherly government
and armed terrorists” and “does not allow its enemies
and terrorist allies to strain these relations”.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) after the statement,

Seyed Rasoul Mousavi, director general of West Asia at
Iran’s foreign ministry, hoped that the statement
would mark an end to recent tensions.
 Seyed Rasoul Mousavi ‫سید رسول موسوی‬
@rasmou · Follow

‫معتقدم بیانیه وزارت امورخارجه کشورمان نقطه پایانی بر امواج تنش ایجاد شده بین‬
‫ رهبران و مقامات عالی هر دو کشور می دانند که از تنش موجود بین دو‬.‫است‬ ‫و‬
.‫کشور همسایه فقط تروریست‌ها و دشمنان هر دو کشور بهره می برند‬
.‫غزه است‬# ‫امروز مساله اصلی جهان اسالم توقف جنایات صهیونیست‌ها در‬

8:57 PM · Jan 18, 2024

Rahim Hayat Qureshi, Pakistan’s additional secretary

for West Asia, replied, expressing a shared hope for
resolving issues through positive dialogue.

China, US reaction

China has also stepped forward, offering to mediate

between Iran and Pakistan.

“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 told a regular press conference. “We are also
willing to play a constructive role in de-escalating the
situation if both sides so wish,” she said.

Ms Mao reiterated Iran and Pakistan were “friendly

countries to China, and countries with important
influence”.

US President Joe Biden said that air strikes by Pakistan

and Iran on each other’s territory showed Tehran was
not “well-liked” in an increasingly tense region.

“As you can see, Iran is not particularly well-liked in

the region,” Biden told reporters at the White House
on Thursday, adding that “we’re working on”
understanding how the situation will develop.

White House national security spokesperson John

Kirby told reporters on Air Force One as Mr Biden flew
to North Carolina that Washington is monitoring the
Iran-Pakistan clashes closely.

“We don’t want to see an escalation clearly in South

and Central Asia. And we’re in touch with our
Pakistani counterparts,” Mr Kirby said.

He said the attack on Pakistan was another example of

Iran’s destabilising behaviour in the region.

The US State Department also urged restraint on all

sides, with spokesperson Matthew Miller saying
Pakistan’s statements about the importance of
cooperative relations with neighbours were
productive and useful.
PM cuts short Davos visit

Meanwhile, following Pakistan’s tit-for-tat response to

Iran’s missile attack, Prime Minister Anwarul Haq
Kakar cut short his Davos, Switzerland, visit and called
an emergency meeting of the Cabinet Committee on
National Security today (Friday).

The meeting, to be presided over by the prime

minister, will be attended by Chief of Army Staff
(COAS) Gen Syed Asim Munir and members of the
federal cabinet.

Prime Minister Kakar was in Devos on Thursday

where he spent almost a week to attend the 54th
session of the World Economic Forum. A source in the
PM Office told Dawn the premier had planned to
proceed to another country on a private visit from
Davos.

Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi

confirmed that Mr Kakar had convened the meeting of
the Cabinet Committee on National Security. While
reluctant to share the meeting’s agenda, Mr Solangi
hinted that it would focus on the Pakistan-Iran
situation.

Security beefed up in border districts

Meanwhile, Baloc­histan has ramped up its security

measures after the country’s retaliatory strike into
Iran.

A high-level meeting, led by Chief Minister Mir Ali

Mardan Domki, was convened on Thursday to
 thoroughly assess the current law and order situation,
particularly in the border regions, and to review
arrangements for the upcoming general elections.

During the meeting, the additional chief secretary

home and tribal affairs, Zahid Saleem, presented a
comprehensive report on the law and order condition
in districts bordering Iran and Afghanistan.

Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan, Additional IG

Police Jawad Hussain and other relevant officials also
attended.

Syed Irfan Raza in Islamabad and Anwar Iqbal in

Washington also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2024

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