ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar emphasized that Pakistan has effectively conveyed a clear message to the entire region, including India, in response to the violation of Iranian airspace.
“Following the airspace violation, Pakistan had no choice but to respond to Iran. This response has unmistakably conveyed a message not only to India but to the entire region,” stated the prime minister during an interview with a private news channel on Thursday.
After Iran conducted a surprise attack in Balochistan last week, claiming to target a militant group, Pakistan’s military conducted an intelligence-based operation inside the Iranian border on January 18, targeting terrorist hideouts.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed that Pakistan’s retaliation, codenamed “Marg Bar Sarmachar,” resulted in the elimination of several terrorists. Iran’s attack, labeled “unprovoked” and “unacceptable” by Pakistan’s Foreign Office, led to the unfortunate death of two children and injuries to three girls, violating the sovereignty of the country.
PM Kakar credited Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir for Islamabad’s response to Tehran, emphasizing the nationwide support despite the ongoing political crisis.
Highlighting the difficulty of the decision, PM Kakar stated, “It was a challenging decision, considering we are committed to an immediate response to such actions from India. In this instance, there is no border conflict between Pakistan and Iran, and the world was closely watching our reaction to these violations.”
The premier candidly expressed, “Iran made a wrong move, and we responded; otherwise, silence would have been our choice. I am yet to find a logical reason for Tehran’s actions when active communication channels were in place.”
Amid escalating tensions, PM Kakar revealed that he intentionally refrained from issuing a statement, stating, “I didn’t release a statement because our true expression would be in our subsequent response.”
He reiterated, “In the Iranian attack, our citizens were casualties, while in our retaliatory move, Pakistan eliminated troublemakers.”
Responding to a query about avoiding such actions, PM Kakar urged both countries to activate all intelligence and military channels to stabilize the Pak-Iran border situation further.
The situation is gradually returning to normalcy as Islamabad and Tehran have mutually agreed that the ambassadors of both countries will resume their respective posts by January 26.
(Islamabad51_Newsdesk)
