Speaking on behalf of the Foreign Office (FO), Mumtaz Zahra Baloch provided an update on the situation between Pakistan and Iran.
“Pakistan on Thursday morning carried out a series of “highly coordinated” and “specifically targeted precision” military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Siestan-Balochistan province of Iran,” she said, repeating the FO’s statement from earlier in the day.
“Several terrorists were killed during the Intelligence-based operation – codenamed ‘Marg Bar Sarmachar”
According to her, Pakistan has regularly expressed its grave concerns in bilateral meetings with Iran over the past few years regarding the safe havens and sanctuaries that terrorists with Pakistani ancestry who go by the name Sarmachars enjoy in ungoverned territory inside Iran.
She also mentioned that Pakistan has provided several dossiers with hard proof of these terrorists’ existence and activity.
Nevertheless, these so-called Sarmachars continued to kill innocent Pakistanis with impunity due to a lack of response to our grave concerns. The operation performed this morning was motivated by reliable information that these so-called Sarmachars were planning large-scale terrorist attacks, the statement stated.
According to her, Pakistan’s unwavering will to safeguard and defend its national security against all threats is demonstrated by this step.
According to Baloch, the accomplishment of the aforementioned “extremely complex operation” is also evidence of the Pakistan Armed Forces’ professionalism. Pakistan will keep doing everything in its power to protect the precious, untouchable, and sacrosanct safety and security of its people.
She restated Pakistan’s complete respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran. She continued, “Pakistan’s security and national interest are of utmost importance and cannot be compromised,” and that was the only goal of today’s act.
She said that as a responsible member of the international community, Pakistan upheld the principles and purposes of the UN Charter including territorial integrity and sovereignty of member states.
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The spokesperson said that guided by the said principles, and in exercise of the legitimate rights within international law, Pakistan would never allow its sovereignty and territorial integrity to be challenged, under any pretext or circumstances.
“Iran is a brotherly country and the people of Pakistan have great respect and affection for the Iranian people. We have always emphasised dialogue and cooperation in confronting common challenges including the menace of terrorism and will continue to endeavour to find joint solutions,” the spokesperson added.
