Pakistani foreign minister receives call from his Iranian counterpart

ISLMABAD: Following Pakistan’s decision to recall its ambassador from Iran and expel the Iranian ambassador, the Pakistani foreign minister Foreign Minister, Jalil Abbas Jilani, received a call from his Iranian counterpart , Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Wednesday.

According to a press release issued by Foreign Office, “Foreign Minister, Jalil Abbas Jilani, who is currently leading the Pakistan delegation to the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Kampala, Uganda, received a telephone call from the Foreign Minister of Iran, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, today.”

“The foreign minister firmly underscored that the attack conducted by Iran inside Pakistani territory, on 16 January 2024, was not only a serious breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty but was also an egregious violation of international law and the spirit of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran,” the press release said.

Read more: Pakistan recalls ambassador from Iran

It further said: “Expressing Pakistan’s unreserved condemnation of the attack, the Foreign Minister added that the incident has cause serious damage to bilateral ties between Pakistan and Iran. The foreign minister added that Pakistan reserved the right to respond to this provocative act.”

“Stressing that terrorism was a common threat to the region and required concerted and coordinated efforts to combat this menace, the foreign minister underlined that unilateral actions could seriously undermine regional peace and stability. No country in the region should tread this perilous path.”

Earlier, Pakistan has announced to recall its ambassador from Iran and also told the Iranian ambassador, currently in Iran, not to return to Pakistan over cross-border and airspace violation.
In a press briefing in Islamabad on Wednesday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch had said Pakistan reserves the right to respond to this illegal act, and the responsibility of the consequences will lie solely with Iran.

“We have also decided to suspend all high-level visits, which were ongoing or were planned between Iran and Pakistan in the coming days” she had added.

“Last night’s unprovoked and blatant breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty by Iran is a violation of international law and the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,” the FO spokesperson had said.

While the Foreign Office (FO) refrained from specifying the incident’s location, Iranian state media reported that the assault occurred in the border town of Panjgur in Balochistan.

According to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, the operation primarily focused on the area referred to as Kouh-Sabz (green mountain) in Balochistan.

The agency detailed that two significant strongholds belonging to the Jaysh al-Dhulm (Jaish al-Adl) terrorist group in Pakistan were specifically targeted. The operation, utilizing a combination of missile and drone attacks, successfully demolished these key locations, as reported by Tasnim news agency.