On Thursday (Jan 18), Pakistan conducted strikes inside Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province, responding to Iranian strikes a day earlier that targeted a jihadist group based in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. The Iranian strikes resulted in the reported death of seven people, including three women, a toll that later rose to nine, according to Iranian state media. The official IRNA news agency quoted Alireza Marhamati, the deputy provincial governor of Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province, confirming that two men were additionally killed in the missile attack in a border village of Saravan.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) issued a statement acknowledging a series of “highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes” as part of the operation codenamed ‘Marg Bar Sarmachar,’ which resulted in the elimination of several terrorists. According to a security source cited by Iran’s Mehr News agency, a total of seven individuals, described as ‘foreign nationals,’ were killed in the missile attack launched by Pakistan on the border village. The casualties reportedly included three women and four children.
The context for these events stems from Iran’s earlier attacks on Tuesday (Jan 17), targeting the bases of the militant group Jaish al-Adl in the border town of Panjgur in Pakistan’s Balochistan. This incident prompted a diplomatic fallout between Islamabad and Tehran, leading to the downgrading of diplomatic ties.
The exchange of strikes between Pakistan and Iran highlights escalating tensions in the border region and underscores the complex geopolitical dynamics at play. The consequences of these actions have implications not only for bilateral relations between the two countries but also for the stability of the broader region.
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