In response to Tehran’s assertion of striking a militant camp in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, Pakistan has initiated counterattacks inside Iran against the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a designated terror group.
These actions come after Iran’s “illegal” strikes prompted a swift response from Pakistan, targeting seven locations of the BLA inside Iran early on Thursday.
The Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) reported it on Thursday morning, soon after Pakistan conducted strikes in Iran.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Sistan Governor also confirmed Pakistani strikes saying blasts were heard in Sistan at 4:05 am (before dawn on Thursday).
Iranian authorities also pointed out that the people who died in Pakistani missile strikes were not Iranians.
According to the social media, Pakistan Army targeted the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a proscribed militant group, operating from Sistan province in Iran.
Reports from the official IRNA news agency indicated several explosions in areas surrounding the city of Saravan in Sistan-Baluchestan province.
A senior intelligence source confirmed the strikes, stating that they were directed at anti-Pakistan militant groups within Iran. The source mentioned that an official government statement would follow.
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities confirmed multiple missile strikes from Pakistan on a border village in the Sistan-Baluchistan province, resulting in casualties, including three women and four children. Notably, these victims were not Iranian nationals.
This escalation follows Iran’s earlier strikes on what it claimed were “terrorist targets” in Pakistan, targeting the Jaish al Adl group. Pakistan, in response, emphasized its precision in targeting militants inside Iran and underscored its consistent communication of concerns about safe havens for Pakistani-origin terrorists in Iranian territory.
Pakistani fighters reportedly entered Iranian airspace, successfully returning after targeting the identified hideouts. In a significant diplomatic move, Pakistan denounced the “unprovoked and blatant breach of its sovereignty” by recalling its ambassador from Iran and preventing Tehran’s envoy, currently in Iran, from returning.
While accusations of harboring militants have been common between Tehran and Islamabad, direct engagement by official forces from both sides is a rare and concerning development.
