Security Situation on Pakistan-Iran Border: Pakistan Responds to Iranian Forces' Attack with Strikes Inside Iran.
Security Situation on Pakistan-Iran Border: As the turmoil in the Middle East escalated, attacks were exchanged, raising the risk of further expansion.
On Thursday, Pakistan announced that it had conducted military strikes inside Iran in response to Iranian forces attacking alleged militant camps in Pakistan. According to the Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry, precision strikes were carried out against terrorist hideouts in southeastern Iran, resulting in the death of several militants.
A Pakistani security official, speaking anonymously, revealed that at least seven camps used by Baluch separatists were targeted around 30 miles inside the border. The official mentioned the use of fighter jets and drones in the retaliatory strikes.
The previous day, Iran had conducted an airstrike in Baluchistan Province in Pakistan. The Iranian government justified the strike, along with attacks in Iraq and Syria, as a demonstration of its commitment to forcefully respond to enemies wherever they may be. Iran has been increasingly employing proxy forces against Israel and its allies since the conflict in Gaza began.
Iran claimed that its attack in Pakistan targeted militants posing a threat to Iran. However, Pakistan dismissed this assertion, citing civilian casualties from the Iranian strike. Pakistan condemned the Iranian attack as a violation of international law and declared its right to respond.
Pakistan has long accused Baluch separatists, who have been engaged in a low-level insurgency in Baluchistan Province for decades, of having hideouts across the border in Iran. Simultaneously, Iran has accused Pakistan of not adequately containing militants targeting Iranian security.
Syed Muhammad Ali, a security analyst based in Islamabad, emphasized the need for a calculated and timely response to dispel any Iranian misperception that an unprovoked military attack on Pakistan would go unanswered. He suggested that both countries had strong incentives to de-escalate tensions now that Pakistan had retaliated, as further military exchanges or escalation would be detrimental for both sides.
Following Pakistan's strike inside Iran, images of residential areas near the Pakistan border reduced to rubble were shared on Telegram channels run by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran's official news agency confirmed multiple explosions in the border area.
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