Pakistan recalls ambassador to Iran after airstrike

Decision to recall ambassador

Pakistan recalled its ambassador to neighboring Iran on Wednesday after accusing Tehran of violating its airspace following what Tehran said was a series of missile attacks on targets in southwestern Pakistan.

Pakistan called the incident a "blatant violation" of Pakistan's national sovereignty .

Iran's state media said Iranian missiles hit two military bases of the Sunni Islamist group Jaish al-Adl, a group designated as a "foreign terrorist organization" by the US State Department.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan has claimed that a violation of its airspace led to the deaths of two children, but has not given details of the violation or where the attack took place.

Speaking from Davos (Switzerland) - where he is attending the World Economic Forum, Iran's foreign minister said only targets of the militant group Jaish al Adl were attacked, accusing those targets of being linked to Israel.

Pakistan and Iran have historically had a rocky relationship, but this was the most serious cross-border attack in recent years.

The airstrikes came just a day after similar attacks by Tehran on several other neighboring countries, Iraq and Syria. Baghdad “recalled its ambassador” from Tehran after Iran’s state-backed media said it had attacked an Israeli spy center.

Local officials in Pakistan say two young children have been killed and several others wounded in attacks along the border with Iran.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch called the violation “unprovoked and unacceptable.” She said the Pakistani government reserved “the right to respond to this illegal act,” a message it had conveyed to the Iranian government.

Ms Baloch said Pakistan would not allow Iran's ambassador who is currently on leave to return to Pakistan.

Aurangzeb Badini, a Pakistani government official, said a meeting of the two countries' cross-border trade commission had been cancelled, and a Pakistani trade envoy in Chabahar, Iran, had been recalled.

“There could be more escalation, but Islamabad has a strong incentive to be cautious,” said Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute, adding that Beijing could step in and mediate.

“China has close ties with both Iran and Pakistan, and they have a desire to keep the crisis from spiraling out of control… they will likely urge both sides to step back from the brink of crisis.”

Attacks near Iran border

Jaish al-Adl has carried out attacks on Iranian security forces on the border with Pakistan.

Officials in Pakistan's southern Balochistan province bordering Iran said four missiles hit the Panjgur district close to the border between the two countries.

“Four missiles were fired at Koh-i-Sabaz village in Pakistan, 50km from the border between the two countries,” a senior Panjgur official said.

“A mosque and three houses were damaged in the attack,” another official said, adding that two girls were killed and three others injured.

Jaish al-Adl has been responsible for several attacks in recent years targeting Iranian security forces in Iran's southern Sistan-Baluchestan province.

Jundallah, the predecessor organization of Jaish al-Adl, has declared allegiance to the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (IS).

Nguyen Quang Minh (according to Reuters)

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