Reports say that the Pakistan Air Force conducted airstrikes on alleged Baloch separatist camps inside Iran as a retaliation. The strikes targeted hideouts within Iranian territory where Baloch militants, wanted by Pakistan, were believed to be located. This move followed Iran’s claim of using precision missile and drone strikes to destroy two important headquarters of Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) in Pakistan. Pakistan criticized this as a violation of its sovereignty, leading to retaliatory actions.
Salman Masood, editor of a local Pakistani daily, shared on Wednesday that Pakistan Air Force targeted Baloch separatist camps inside Iran, responding to Iran’s claim of targeting militants within Pakistani territory. Another Pakistani daily also reported that hideouts of Baloch militants wanted by Pakistan were hit in Iran.
Pakistan’s caretaker Foreign Minister, Jalil Abbas Jilani, expressed strong condemnation, stating that Iran’s attack on January 16 inside Pakistani territory breached sovereignty and violated international law. This incident strained bilateral ties between the two countries.
Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister, Anwar ul-Haq Kakar, met Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, at the World Economic Forum. Around the same time, Iran announced strikes on Jaish Al Adl bases inside Pakistan through drone and missile attacks.
Jaish al-Adl, labeled a terrorist organization by Iran, is a Sunni group operating in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province. It has carried out several attacks on Iranian security forces. In December, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for an attack in Sistan-Balochistan that killed at least 11 police personnel.
Iran’s recent missile strikes in northern Iraq and Syria were defended by its foreign ministry as a precise and targeted operation against security threats. The strikes targeted a “terrorist headquarters” in Idlib, Syria, and a “Mossad-affiliated center” in Erbil, Iraq, according to Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani. The operation aimed to deter security threats, using ballistic missiles for precise strikes on criminal headquarters.
