Pakistan carried out attacks on separatist hideouts in Iran on Thursday, a day after Iran attacked Sunni militant group stronghold in Balochistan province.
While both Iran and Pakistan claim the recent strike vs strike incidents to be an operation to purely target groups that were posing terror threat to their respective country but operating on foreign soil, recent sequence of violent events highlight several factors like Shia-Sunni rift or Israel-Hamas War that may have also played a role in the military action between the neighbours.
On 16 January 2024, Iran claimed a missile and drone attack in Balochistan, Pakistan. The Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian divulged that the operation carried out by Iran was against the Jaish ul-Adl, which he described as "Iranian Terrorists on Pakistani soil". Iran maintained that the attack was only against the 'terrorist outfit' and not against Pakistani citizens.
Pakistan responded to Iranian military action by recalling its Ambassador from Iran and said that the Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan will not be allowed to return, expressing resistance against the "unprovoked violation of its airspace."
What is Jaish ul-Adl?
Jaish al-Adl, which means literally means 'Army of Justice', has since long proven to be a terror threat to both Pakistan and Iran. The group is active in the Sistan-Baluchistan region of Pakistan which falls near the shared border of Iran and Pakistan.
Jaish al-Adl, was designated as a terrorist group by the United States of America and Iran.
The motive behind the group's targeted attack is still being investigated. Reports said that in December, Jaish al-Adl terrorists had reportedly attacked a police station in Sistan. 11 Iranian officers were reportedly killed in that attack.
Past Attacks
Two weeks ago, at least 103 people were killed and over 180 others were injured in twin bomb explosions near the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani’s tomb on January 3 as the slain military leader’s supporters were gathered in a procession to mark his fourth death anniversary.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had accused Israel of being behind the blast and has vowed that they will give it back to them in equal proportion. Terror group ISIS had claimed responsibility for the Soleimani memorial attack
On 3 January 2020, Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian major general, was killed by an American drone strike near Baghdad International Airport, Iraq, while travelling to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi.
