ISLAMABAD – Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani has emphasised that Pakistan has no interest or desire in escalating tension with Iran.
In a telephonic conversation with Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, he said that Pakistan’s Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar was aimed at targeting terrorist hideouts inside Iran.
The conversation between two sides comes a day after Pakistan launched precision military strikes to target terrorists inside Iran following the Tehran’s airstrikes in Balochistan’s Pangur town.
The Foreign Office said on Thursday that Pakistan carried out a series of “highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes” against “Pakistani origin terrorists calling themselves Sarmachars” in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province.
Meanwhile, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported that nine people were killed in the airstrikes by Pakistan targeting a village in the city of Saravan. Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi in a statement said all the dead “were foreign nationals”.
In a statement, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan had consistently shared its serious concerns about the safe havens and sanctuaries enjoyed by “Pakistani origin terrorists calling themselves Sarmachars” on the ungoverned spaces inside Iran over the last several years.
“Pakistan also shared multiple dossiers with concrete evidence of the presence and activities of these terrorists,” the spokesperson said in the statement.
“However, because of lack of action on our serious concerns, these so-called Sarmachars continued to spill the blood of innocent Pakistanis with impunity. This morning’s action was taken in light of credible intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activities by these so-called Sarmachars.
“This action is a manifestation of Pakistan’s unflinching resolve to protect and defend its national security against all threats. The successful execution of this highly complex operation is also a testimony to the professionalism of the Pakistan Armed Forces,” she said.
Pakistan Ambassador to Iran Mudassar Tipu reaches back Islamabad
