The recent unprovoked violation of Pakistan's airspace by Iran is a serious attack on Pakistan's sovereignty and integrity. This act could have grave consequences. The violation resulted in the tragic loss of two innocent children's lives and injuries to three girls, contradicting Iran's assertion that the attack was targeted at a terrorist organization.
The Iranian government, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Iranian intelligence bear the full responsibility for this attack. Despite the existence of multiple communication channels between the two countries, the operation was carried out in violation of international law, clearly infringing upon Pakistan's airspace.
In an attempt to justify this incident, a counterfeit press release was issued by an organization known as Jaish-ul-Adl. Upon witnessing Pakistan's reaction, Iran acknowledged its erroneous and reckless action. Jaish-ul-Adl, which is operated by the IRGC itself, subsequently issued another false statement claiming that the rockets had mistakenly crossed the border and that the actual target was a Jaish al-Adl camp within Sistan, Iran.
It is absurd that a terrorist organization is providing explanations for rockets fired by the IRGC that accidentally crossed the border. This clearly indicates that the accounts attributed to Jaish-ul-Adl are being managed by the IRGC and Iranian intelligence.
This action by Iran has sparked significant outrage in Pakistan. It is a fact that the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) have camps inside Iran - Kaloboshan Yadav had also been operating from Iran. Iran would be mistaken to assume that Pakistan will overlook this incident.
In response to this action, the entire Pakistani nation is now demanding a robust and equivalent response from the state. Pakistan reserves the right to respond in any manner. The Foreign Office has summoned the Iranian Charge d'affaires and a strong protest has been lodged. The decision to prevent the Iranian ambassador from returning and to recall the Pakistani ambassador from Iran is a powerful response from Pakistan.
Even before these incidents, there were infiltrations and terrorist activities from Iranian territory. In January 2023, in the Panjgur District, four security personnel were martyred in terrorist activities originating from inside the Iranian border, while in April 2023, terrorists from Iranian territory attacked Pakistani forces in Kech.
It is worth noting that Iran's security agencies are not unified, resulting in serious diplomatic challenges for the Iranian government. Following this incident, certain political factions exploited social media for their political gains and to defame the Pakistan Army. Indian accounts also participated in this malicious campaign, aiding certain Pakistani political groups.
Pakistan will certainly not adopt the approach taken by Iraq and Syria in responding to such incidents and will take every measure necessary for its national security and integrity that reflects the feelings and sentiments of the Pakistani nation. Pakistan always prefers the principle of co-existence with its neighbors but is not oblivious to its national security requirements and reserves the right to retaliate to this aggression by Iran.
