ISLAMABAD: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep concern over Iran’s missile attack inside Pakistan’s territory.
In a statement, he strongly called for restraint and avoidance of further escalation amid increasing tensions between the two neighboring countries. The UN Chief called for respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states.
Separately, the United States has ALSO condemned Iran’s airstrike and breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty.
Responding to a question during his press briefing in Washington, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said we always want to see peace and stability maintained, especially in this region.
About Pakistan’s response that it reserves the right to respond illegal act of breaching Pakistan’s sovereignty by Iran, the US State Department Spokesperson said we hope that the issue can be peacefully resolved. He said we have seen Iran violated the sovereign borders of three of its neighbours in just past couple of days and we do condemn these strikes.
After Iran’s airstrikes in Balochistan’s Panjgur areas some days back that killed two women and injured two girls, Pakistan also undertook a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Siestan-o-Baluchistan province of Iran this morning.
Meanwhile, Caretaker Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi has said the government has lodged protest with Iranian authorities over “unprovoked violation” of its airspace, confirming that the “illegal move” is under investigation.
According to a statement by the foreign office, a number of terrorists were killed during the Intelligence-based operation – codenamed ‘Marg Bar Sarmachar’. Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in her statement said that over the last several years, Pakistan in its engagements with Iran consistently shared serious concerns about the safe havens and sanctuaries enjoyed by Pakistani origin terrorists calling themselves Sarmachars on the ungoverned spaces inside Iran. She said Pakistan also shared multiple dossiers with concrete evidence of the presence and activities of these terrorists.
At her weekly news briefing in Islamabad today, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the military strikes of this morning were not targeted against Iran or its institutions but the terror hideouts there.
She said Pakistan fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The sole objective of today’s act was in pursuit of Pakistan’s own security and national interest which is paramount and cannot be compromised.
