On Thursday, Pakistan targeted terrorist hideouts in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province, less than 48 hours after Iranian strikes in Balochistan region which Islamabad deemed a violation of its airspace.
According to Iran’s news agency IRNA, the strikes caused nine people deaths, including four children, three women and two men.
Pakistan’s retilation came two days after Iran carried out strikes against what it called as “terrorist” targets in Pakistan, killing at least two children. According to Pakistan foreign office.
Several global powers and regional stakeholders have reacted to the tit-for-tat development, with most asking the neighbours to choose for dialogue over letting the situation deteriorate further.
China
Beijing called for “calm and restraint”, and offered to mediate between the two countries.
“The Chinese side sincerely hopes that the two sides can exercise calm and restraint and avoid an escalation of tension,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press conference in Beijing.
Adding further ,she said “We are also willing to play a constructive role in de-escalating the situation if both sides are aggred. “
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman further reiterated that it hoped for both parties to resolve their disputes via talk and dialogue.
The United States, which sees Tehran as foe condemned the Iranian strikes in Pakistan, Iraq and Syria.
“So we do condemn those strikes. We’ve seen Iran violate the sovereign borders of three of its neighbours in just the past couple of days,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement released before Pakistan’s counter strikes in Iran.
“I think it is a little bit ironic for, on one hand, Iran to be the leading source of fund for terrorism in the region, the leading supporter of instability in the region, and on the other hand, Said that it needs to take these measures to counter terrorism,” the spokesman further added.
India
India’s foreign office spokesperson Shri Randhir Jaiswal was seems neutral in his remarks, saying: “This is a bilateral issue between Iran and Pakistan.
“In so far as India is concerned, we have an uncompromising stance of zero tolerance for terrorism. We understand actions that countries take in their self defense.”
Turkiye
Turkiye’s foreign ministry urged Iran, Iraq and Pakistan to behave responsibly and show “restraint and common sense”.
“We believe the issues should be resolved with an understanding of friendship and brotherhood, based on mutual respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries,” the ministry said in a statement.
Additionally, after making phone calls with counterparts from both the countries, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that neither wants to escalate tensions in the region.
During a press conference in Jordan, Fidan said Turkey had told both Iran and Pakistan to restore peace as soon as possible.
Afghanistan
The Taliban foreign ministry, in a statement, said that the two neighbouring countries “should resolve disputes through diplomacy and dialogue”.
Russia
Russia’s foreign ministry called on Iran and Pakistan to show maximum restraint and solve their differences through diplomacy and avoid risk playing into the hands of those who would like to see the region descend into chaos.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a statement said that the two countries are part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a grouping that Russia is founding member.
“It is regrettable that this is going between friendly SCO countries, with which we are developing partnership relations. Further aggravation of the situation plays into the hands of those who are not interested in peace, stability and security in the region,” Zakharova further said.
Any anti-terror operation on another country’s sovereign territory had to be carried out in mutual way and coordination with the authorities of that country, she said.
European Union
The European Union said it was deeply worried about the “spiral of violence in the Middle East and beyond” after Pakistan and Iran hit out each other’s territory.
“These attacks, including in Pakistan in Iraq in Syria and Iran now are of utmost concern for the European Union because they violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, and they have also a destabilising effect on the region,” EU spokesman Peter Stano said.
By AFP and Reuters
