Pakistan Talks Tough On 'Airspace Violation', Expels Iranian Ambassador, Recalls Envoy From Tehran

Pakistan expelled the Iranian ambassador and recalled its envoy from Tehran.

Pakistan expelled the Iranian ambassador and recalled its envoy from Tehran.

Pakistan on Wednesday expelled the Iranian ambassador and recalled its envoy from Tehran, as reported by Pakistan’s Geo TV. According to PTI, Pakistan has also suspended all high-level planned bilateral visits in the coming days. This move comes after Iran violated Pakistan's airspace.

The move comes hours after Tehran launched an unprecedented missile and drone strikes on what it said were terrorist bases of a Sunni militant group in the restive Balochistan province. On Tuesday, two bases of Balochi militant group Jaish al-Adl in Pakistan were targeted by missiles and drones, PTI reported, citing Iranian state media. 

The attack took place a day after similar Iranian strikes in Iraq and Syria. Speaking at a press briefing in Islamabad, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said, "Pakistan has decided to recall its ambassador from Iran and that the Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan who is currently visiting Iran may not return for the time being," as quoted by Geo TV.

Pakistan also summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to convey its "strongest condemnation of this blatant violation" of its sovereignty. The Foreign Office of Pakistan also described Iran's act as an "unprovoked violation of its airspace" in its statement. According to reports, Iran hit the bases of the militant group with missiles and drones.

Pakistan condemned the overnight attack which killed two children and injured three girls. “Two key strongholds of the Jaysh al-Dhulm (Jaish al-Adl) terrorist group in Pakistan” were “specifically targeted and successfully demolished,” PTI quoted Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency as saying.

According to PTI, Tehran has repeatedly issued a warning that the Jaish al-Adl militant group is using Pakistani soil in the border town of Panjgur in Balochistan to launch terror attacks on Iranian security forces. The strikes were launched the day Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

Jaish al-Adl, or the "Army of Justice", is a Sunni militant group founded in 2012 that largely operates in Pakistan, as per PTI.