Pakistan launches retaliatory airstrikes in Iran after attack by Tehran

Police officers stand guard at the main entry gate of Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Islamabad on January 18, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 18 January 2024
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Pakistan launches retaliatory airstrikes in Iran after attack by Tehran

  • Strikes are highest-profile cross-border intrusions in recent years, come amid growing worries about instability in Middle East
  • Tehran says nine non-Iranians killed, Pakistan army says used killer drones, rockets, loitering munitions and stand-off weapons

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan conducted retaliatory strikes on what it called “terrorist hideouts” inside Iran on Thursday, the Pakistani foreign ministry announced, in response to an attack by Tehran against alleged militants within its territory in which Islamabad said two children were killed.
The strikes are the highest-profile cross-border attacks in recent years and come amid growing concerns about instability in the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7.
On Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian confirmed Tehran’s strikes inside Pakistan, saying they had targeted militants from the Jash Al-Adil group a day earlier. Iran says the ethnic militant group has hideouts inside the country’s shared border with Pakistan and carries out attacks against Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“This morning Pakistan undertook a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts in Sistan-Baluchestan province of Iran,” Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, a spokesperson for the Pakistani foreign ministry, said at a press briefing on Thursday.
“A number of terrorists were killed during the intelligence-based operation, codenamed ‘Marg Bar Sarmachar’.”
“Marg bar” means “death to” in the Farsi language while “sarmachar” means guerrilla in the local Baloch language and is used by militants operating in the cross-border region that comprises Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, as well as Iran’s neighboring southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province. Both regions have faced a low-level insurgency by Baloch separatists for decades.

In a separate statement, the Pakistan army said it had carried out the “precision strikes” using killer drones, rockets, loitering munitions and stand-off weapons, taking “maximum care” to avoid collateral damage. The military said it had struck hideouts of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), separatists groups that have led a low-level insurgency against Pakistan for decades.
“An explosion was heard, followed by a drone and missile attack on the city of Saravan in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, leading to injury of several people,” Iran’s Mehr news agency reported on Thursday morning.
AP reported casualty figures from the deputy governor of Sistan and Baluchestan province, Ali Reza Marhamati, saying the dead included three women, four children and two men near the town of Saravan along the border in the province. Marhamati said the dead were not Iranian citizens.
The BLA, which has operated in the region since 2000 and is fighting for independence from Pakistan, said in a statement the strikes had targeted and killed its people.
“Pakistan will have to pay a price for it,” the group warned. “Now the Baloch Liberation Army will not remain silent. We will avenge it and we announce war on the state of Pakistan.”

“PAKISTANI ENVOY TO TEHRAN RETURNS HOME”
Pakistan has long accused Iran of providing sanctuaries to militants who carry out attacks in Pakistan. Iran, which denies state complicity, also accuses Islamabad of allowing sanctuaries to anti-Iran militants, a charge it rejects.
“Pakistan fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Pakistani foreign office spokeswoman said at Thursday’s briefing.
“The sole objective of today’s act was in pursuit of Pakistan’s own security and national interest, which is paramount and cannot be compromised … The target [of Thursday’s strikes] was these hideouts and sanctuaries of those so-called sarmachars, who are Pakistan-origin terrorists, and currently based in Iran.”
To a question about Iran’s claim that it had informed Pakistan before conducting Tuesday’s airstrikes, the foreign office spokeswoman replied: “Absolutely not.”
“There was no such information which was shared with Pakistan prior to the act that took place two nights ago.”
On Wednesday, Pakistan recalled its ambassador from Iran and blocked Tehran’s envoy, who is currently in Iran, from returning to the country.
“As decided, the Pakistani ambassador has returned to Islamabad from Tehran,” Spokeswoman Baloch confirmed to Arab News.
Iran strongly condemned Thursday’s strikes, its foreign ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, said, adding that Pakistan’s charge d’affaires, its most senior diplomat in Tehran, had been summoned to give an explanation.
In Islamabad, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-haq Kakar would cut short a visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos and return home.
Even before its strikes in Pakistan on Tuesday, Iran launched strikes on Syria against what Tehran said were Daesh sites, as well as Iraq, where it said it had struck an Israeli espionage center. Baghdad has recalled its ambassador from Tehran.


Toxic smog wreathes India’s capital, Pakistan’s Lahore as winter nears

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Toxic smog wreathes India’s capital, Pakistan’s Lahore as winter nears

  • Punjab government has blamed pollution wafting in from India for Lahore’s worsening air quality 
  • Authorities in Punjab have taken emergency measures in wake of unprecedented pollution levels

NEW DELHI: A toxic smog shrouded the Indian capital on Tuesday, driving air quality in some areas into the “severe” range ahead of winter, when cold air traps pollutants and brings a spike in respiratory illnesses.

The mix of smoke, emissions, and dust is an annual problem for authorities in New Delhi, with vehicles, construction dust, and smoke from farm fires in the adjoining northern states of Punjab and Haryana among the major contributors.

“The outlook for the subsequent six days: the air quality is likely to be in the ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ category,” said the earth sciences ministry.

The city’s overall score on an air quality index kept by India’s top pollution authorities was ‘very poor’ at 384, the ministry added, and was likely to stay there until Thursday.

An index range of 401 to 500 falls into the ‘severe’ category, implying it affects healthy people, but is more serious for those already fighting disease.

Ministry data showed farm fires have increasingly swelled the pollution over the last three days, for a share of more than 23 percent on Monday, from about 15 percent on Saturday.

About a third of the city’s 39 monitoring stations showed a ‘severe’ score of more than 400 on Tuesday, said the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), well short of an air quality score of zero to 50 that it rates as ‘good’.

Swiss group IQAir also rated Delhi the world’s second most polluted city on Tuesday, after Lahore in neighboring Pakistan, where authorities also took emergency measures in the wake of Sunday’s unprecedented pollution levels.

The government in the eastern province of Punjab, home to Lahore, has blamed deteriorating air quality on pollution wafting in from India, an issue it has vowed to take up with its neighbor through the foreign ministry.


Pakistan, Uzbekistan businesses explore joint ventures in Tashkent meeting

Updated 23 min 49 sec ago
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Pakistan, Uzbekistan businesses explore joint ventures in Tashkent meeting

  • The business-to-business meetings spanned a variety of industries, including textiles, food processing, engineering and logistics
  • Pakistan is seeking to promote closer economic ties with regional and international allies to bolster its fragile $350 billion economy

ISLAMABAD: Representatives of more than two dozen Pakistani companies and over one hundred leading Uzbek enterprises met in Tashkent and discussed joint projects in diverse sectors, the Pakistani commerce ministry said on Monday.

The discussions took place at the Uzbek-Pakistani Business Forum, complementing the 9th intergovernmental commission meeting on economic cooperation between Uzbekistan and Pakistan, according to the Pakistani ministry.

These business-to-business (B2B) meetings spanned a variety of industries, including textiles, food processing, engineering and logistics, underscoring the shared commitment of both nations to explore collaborative business opportunities.

Addressing the forum, Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan highlighted Pakistan’s investment-friendly environment and encouraged Uzbek businesses to consider collaborative projects in Pakistan.

"He emphasized that such interactions pave the way for deepened commercial ties and contribute to regional economic stability," the commerce ministry said.

Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Laziz Kudratov echoed these sentiments, welcoming Pakistani enterprises and emphasizing the Uzbek government’s commitment to fostering a supportive atmosphere for international partnerships.

"Initiatives like the Business Forum play a crucial role in propelling trade and investment forward, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs," he was quoted as saying.

The development comes as Pakistan seeks to enhance regional connectivity with landlocked Central Asian states by providing them access to its warm water ports. It recently offered Central Asian states to become part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, under which Beijing has pledged around $65 billion in energy, infrastructure and other projects in Pakistan.

The South Asian country narrowly avoided a sovereign default last year and has since sought to promote closer economic ties with regional and international allies to bolster its fragile $350 billion economy, which has been suffering from a prolonged macroeconomic crisis.


Iranian FM arrives in Pakistan to discuss Middle East situation, bilateral ties

Updated 30 min 51 sec ago
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Iranian FM arrives in Pakistan to discuss Middle East situation, bilateral ties

  • Seyed Abbas Araghchi’s visit takes place amid surging regional tensions between Israel and Iran
  • Islamabad, Tehran have had a rocky relationship despite agreements on trade, energy and security 

ISLAMABAD: Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Islamabad on a two-day official visit to hold consultations with the Pakistani leadership on the evolving Middle East situation and discuss bilateral ties with Pakistan, state-run media reported on Tuesday. 

Araghchi was welcomed by Pakistan’s Additional Foreign Secretary (Afghanistan and West Asia) Ambassador Ahmed Naseem Warraich upon his arrival in Islamabad, a foreign office press release said. 

Araghchi’s Islamabad visit takes place after last month’s escalation in hostilities between Iran and Israel, with both countries firing missiles at each other. Israel carried out strikes against Iran on Oct. 26, saying it was responding to missile attacks conducted by Tehran earlier in the month.

Since the deadliest attack in its history on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza and since late September, it has been at war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are allies of Iran. Pakistan, a major ally of Saudi Arabia, shares a long border with Iran.

“Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi arrived here late Monday night on a two-day official visit to hold consultations with Pakistan’s leadership on the situation in the Middle East and bilateral relations,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. 

The APP said Araghchi will meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar during his two-day visit. 

“This visit provides an important opportunity to advance cooperation and dialogue between Pakistan and Iran on a wide range of areas including trade, energy and security,” APP said. 
Pakistan and Iran have had a rocky relationship despite several commercial pacts between the two countries on trade, energy and security. Both countries signed the $7 billion Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project agreement in 2004 but 20 years on, the project remains incomplete. Tehran has completed the pipeline’s construction on its side of the border while Pakistan is seeking a US waiver to go ahead with it due to international sanctions targeting Tehran. 
Pakistan and Iran are also often at odds over instability on their shared porous border, with both countries routinely trading blame for not rooting out militancy.
Tensions surged in January when Pakistan and Iran exchanged airstrikes, both claiming to target alleged militant hideouts in each other’s countries. Late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi visited Pakistan in April on a three-day visit aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and easing tensions. The two sides also signed memorandums of understanding in the fields of trade, science technology, agriculture, health, culture, and judicial matters. 


Pakistan reports fresh polio case from Balochistan, taking 2024 tally to 46

Updated 4 min 18 sec ago
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Pakistan reports fresh polio case from Balochistan, taking 2024 tally to 46

  • Poliovirus detected in male child from Killa Saifullah district, says polio eradication program
  • Pakistan’s immunization campaigns suffer from misinformation campaigns and militant attacks

KARACHI: Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province has detected a fresh poliovirus case in a male child, the country’s polio eradication program said on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases reported this year to 46 as Islamabad struggles to clamp down on the infection. 

The National Institute of Health’s (NIH) laboratory confirmed detecting the virus in a male child from Killa Saifullah district in Balochistan, the program said. 

“This is the second polio case from Killa Saifullah, where several environmental samples have tested positive for WPV1,” the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program said. “So far, 23 cases have been reported from Balochistan province, 12 from Sindh province, nine from KP and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.”

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio remains endemic. Since late 2018, Pakistan has seen a resurgence of cases and increased spread of poliovirus, highlighting the fragility of gains achieved in the preceding years when cases dropped in 2023 to six, from 20 in 2022 and just one in 2022. Misinformation about vaccinations and attacks by militants on polio teams have been major impediments to immunization campaigns.

At least seven people, including five school students, were killed and 23 injured in a blast in southwestern Pakistan that targeted a polio vaccination team vehicle on Friday, police said. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Last Tuesday, a policeman was killed in an attack on a health office that manages door-to-door polio vaccination campaigns.

The attacks have coincided with Pakistan’s third nationwide polio campaign this year, launched last week with the aim to administer vaccine drops to more than 45 million children.

Pakistani Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication, Ayesha Raza Farooq, has said that the government is revamping its polio eradication program to make the country free of the virus by mid next year.

“WPV1 has been detected in 76 districts, indicating widespread circulation of the virus and a continued serious risk to children’s well-being from a disease that can paralyze them for life,” the polio eradication program said. 
“Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five is essential to keep them protected.”


Pakistan PM says policy rate reduction to enhance business activities, boost employment

Updated 46 min 32 sec ago
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Pakistan PM says policy rate reduction to enhance business activities, boost employment

  • Pakistan’s central bank slashed key policy rate by 250 basis points to 15 percent on Monday 
  • With fourth straight reduction since June, Islamabad aims to revive sluggish economy 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has welcomed the central bank’s decision to cut the policy rate by 250 basis points, saying the move would help boost the country’s business activities and enhance employment opportunities, state-run media reported on Tuesday.

Pakistan’s central bank slashed its key policy rate by 250 basis points to 15 percent on Monday for a fourth straight reduction since June. The development takes place as Islamabad attempts to revive a sluggish, fragile $350 billion economy as inflation eases. 

Monday’s move follows cuts of 150 bps in June, 100 bps in July, and 200 in September that have taken the rate from an all-time high of 22 percent, set in June 2023 and left unchanged for a year. It takes the total cuts to 700 bps in under five months.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says the reduction in policy rate will enhance business activities, exports and employment opportunities in the country,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 

Sharif was chairing a meeting of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) parliamentary party on Monday when he touched upon the central bank’s move. The premier noted that inflation has reduced from an alarming 38 percent in May 2023 to 7 percent at present.

The Pakistani premier informed members of the PML-N parliamentary party about his visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar last week, saying that “a new chapter” has been added to the Pakistan-Saudi investment partnership. 

“The Saudi leadership assured all kinds of support for the stability and development of Pakistan’s economy,” Sharif said according to the state broadcaster. 

The Pakistani prime minister also informed the lawmakers about his visit to Qatar, saying that the Qatari leadership also assured an increase in investment for Pakistan. He said talks were held between both sides on giving “a practical shape” to projects worth $3 billion in Pakistan. 

“He said Qatar will invest in various sectors including aviation, hoteling, information technology and energy sectors in Pakistan,” the state broadcaster said. “Shehbaz Sharif said the government is taking steps on a priority basis to facilitate investment and increase foreign investment in Pakistan.”