"I personally think that Iranian authorities have seriously indulged in unprovoked violation of Pakistani airspace for which the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan have already issued a strongly worded condemnation", Pakistani expert, executive director of the Center for South Asia and International Studies (CSAIS) Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan, told Ednews regarding the latest incident that took place near Iran and Pakistan border.

"I fear that it is going to damage the bilateral relations in terms of common security, secret information sharing mechanism, joint fight against terrorism and combating against drugs and human trafficking in the shorter terms. However, it will not create any bigger regional crisis. But there are lots of conspiracy theories are floating in the country and in the region about the real cause of this cross border attacks, breaching the concept of national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan. Moreover, the Iranian so-called high claims of targeting two bases belonging to Jaish al Adl, allegedly in Pakistan does not have any concrete evidence and justification which should be wake-up for our policy makers and security experts. It is indeed anti-international law, anti-diplomatic norms and anti-regional peace and stability. It has certain spillover socio-economic, geopolitical and geostrategic repercussions for both the sides as well region. Thus Iranian authorities should restrain from these acts of unilateralism creating serious threats of security and safety.  

According to Iranian media, the bases of Jaish al Adl were hit and destroyed by missiles and drones in Baluchistan. The Foreign Office of Pakistan fervently protested the “violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty”, calling it “completely unacceptable” and warning it “can have serious consequences”. Moreover, the MOFA expressed concern that the illegal act took place despite the existence of several established channels of communication between Pakistan and Iran therefore a strong protest has already been lodged with the concerned senior official in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran."

He emphasized that one of the major irritatant irritants standing in the way of improved Pakistan-Iran relations are the presence of armed malign actors.

"Furthermore, the Iranian Charge d’affaires has been called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey our strongest condemnation of this blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and that the responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran. It seems that one of the major irritants standing in the way of improved Pakistan-Iran relations is the presence of armed malign actors active along the common border of both states. These include criminals such as drug smugglers, as well as armed militants subscribing to both separatist and extremist ideologies. Deadly confrontations between these elements and security forces are common, which often result in the loss of both Pakistani and Iranian personnel. In near past, border security was a dominant theme during army chief Gen Asim Munir’s visit to Iran. The COAS met the Iranian president and foreign minister, as well as Tehran’s top generals representing both the regular army as well as the Pasdaran.
During these high official meetings, both sides emphasized to eliminate the menace of terrorism along the common border by sharing intelligence and enhancing cooperation. This is the second high-level exchange between the leaderships of both states in recent months, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Ebrahim Raisi met in May 2023 to inaugurate the Mand-Pishin ‘border sustenance market’."

Akbar Novruz