Pakistan retaliation strikes killed 9 people in Iran

 

Pakistan retaliation strikes killed 9 people in Iran

Pakistan's retaliatory missile attacks killed 9 people in Iran. Iran carried out missile attacks on Pakistan on Tuesday.

Pakistan said that its missiles have attacked Iran's south-eastern Sistan-Baluchestan province.

Iran has condemned this unexpected attack and expressed its dissatisfaction. Iran also added that the attack killed three women, two men, and four children who were not Iranian.

The retaliatory missile attacks come at a time when tension is high and conflicts are getting worse in the Middle East. 

Iran backed several militant groups fighting against the Western powers and Israel. Israel is engaged in Gaza, fighting with Hamas. The Israel-Hamas war has crossed over 100 days. Israel is also getting attacked by Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and US and UK naval forces are fighting Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen who are disrupting trade routes through the Red Sea.

Pakistani foreign ministry said its strikes around the Iranian city of Saravan had come in light of "credible intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activities" and added that it "fully respects" Iran's "sovereignty and territorial integrity".

In its statement, Pakistan's army said the "precision strikes" were conducted with drones, rockets, and long-range missiles and targeted the Balochistan Liberation Army and the Balochistan Liberation Front.

Both groups are part of a decades-long struggle for greater autonomy in Balochistan, a remote region in southwestern Pakistan.

Pakistan has also condemned the attacks which Iran launched on Tuesday. Iran targeted Pakistan's Balochistan province near the Iranian border which Islamabad said killed two children.

Iran insisted its strikes were aimed only at Jaish al-Adl, or "army of justice", an ethnic Baloch Sunni Muslim militant group (formerly called Jundullah) that has carried out attacks inside Iran, and not Pakistan's citizens.

Iranian state media reported on Thursday that Tehran had summoned Pakistan's chargé d'affaires over the strikes. Pakistan had earlier recalled its ambassador and blocked the Iranian envoy from returning.

China, Turkey, and the Taliban government in Afghanistan have all called for restraint and dialogue.

There is also a possibility of the USA's involvement in Pakistan's retaliatory strikes.

Western countries are stuck handling Houthis in the Red Sea and the situation is getting tougher with each day passing. 

Since Iran is backing these militants and possibly giving orders too, the US would want to keep Iran busy. 

The strikes carried out by Iran serve as a perfect opportunity for it.

In recent weeks, Iran has also carried out attacks in Syria and Iraq. 

Both Iran and Pakistan do not seem to want to escalate the tensions any further and would do a peace dialogue soon.

The question arises as to why would Pakistan retaliate so fiercely. 

The answer is that the military establishment in Pakistan which secretly runs the country behind the scenes is under pressure from the public after they removed the popular sitting Prime Minister, Imran Khan. 

The army has also failed to conduct the general elections till now and the anger in the public is soaring. 

The Pakistani military has also posted several videos of the missile launch on its social media accounts and the domestic media is covering them nonstop. This all shows that the retaliation is probably encouraged by the US and is meant to divert public attention.

In the end, the region is becoming very unstable, and big countries like China are giving it no importance and probably encouraging it too. It now all rests in India's hands to maintain peace and security in the region.