Pakistan expels Iranian ambassador from Pakistan, suspends all high level visits in response to Iranian attack on Pakistan

Pakistan confirmed on Wednesday that Iran carried out an air strike on its territory that killed two children and injured three girls after Tehran launched attacks in Iraq and Syria against what it called “anti-Iranian terrorist groups”.

As of yet, Pakistan has expelled Iranian ambassador from Pakistan, and has suspended all high level visits in response.

Pakistan expels Iranian ambassador and recalls its own from Tehran plus suspends all high level visits to and from Iran. This was the only way to respond to Iranian aggression. Iran must know it cannot cross the red line with Pakistan. By not responding to Iran’s violation in…

— Nasim Zehra (@NasimZehra) January 17, 2024

Iran offered no immediate official comment but its state-run Nour News agency said the attack destroyed the Pakistan headquarters of the jihadist group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice).

However, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency that, “Two key strongholds of the Jaysh al-Dhulm (Jaish al-Adl) terrorist group in Pakistan” were “specifically targeted and successfully demolished by a combination of missile and drone attacks”, cites Dawn.

Tasnim reported that the “focal point of this operation was the region known as Kouh-Sabz (green mountain)” in Balochistan.

Local authorities said they had also received information about such an attack but had no further details at the time of going to print. Reports from the area suggested that a missile hit a mosque, partially damaging it and injuring some people.

In its statement, the foreign office described the incident as an “illegal act”.

🔊: PR NO. 1️⃣5️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣4️⃣

Pakistan’s Strong Condemnation of the Unprovoked Violation of its Air Space

🔗⬇️https://t.co/TAWRqC7qMy pic.twitter.com/oqi3tvAOso

— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) January 16, 2024

Formed in 2012, Jaish al-Adl is blacklisted by Iran as a terrorist group and has carried out several attacks on Iranian soil in recent years.

The strike came after Iran launched missile attacks on “spy headquarters” and “terrorist” targets in Syria, and in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.

The Iranian strikes add to multiple crises across the Middle East, with Israel waging a war against Hamas in Gaza and pro-Palestinian Huthi rebels in Yemen attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea.