Pakistan denounces the ‘unprovoked’ Iranian airstrike, while China urges moderation

Beijing urges all parties to refrain from taking any measures that would cause tension to rise.

China has demanded “restraint” from Pakistan and Iran in response to Tehran’s airstrike on its territory, which left two children dead and three females injured.

Speaking at a routine briefing on Wednesday, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “We call on both sides to exercise restraint, avoid actions that would lead to an escalation of tension and work together to maintain peace and stability.”

“We consider both Iran and Pakistan as close neighbours and major Islamic countries,” she stated.

Pakistan has severely denounced Iran’s unwarranted invasion of its airspace and issued a warning that doing so is entirely unacceptable and may have dire repercussions.

The fact that this illegal deed occurred in spite of Pakistan and Iran having many communication lines makes it even more worrisome. Pakistan’s Foreign Office also stated, “Pakistan has already voiced its strong protest to the relevant senior official in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran.

Iran and Pakistan are both members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and strong allies of Beijing.

Read More: Pakistan firmly rejects Iran’s unlawful infringement of its airspace

Iran did not immediately provide an official response, but the state-run news outlet Nour reported that the attack destroyed the Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) militant group’s headquarters.

Iran’s infringement of Pakistani sovereignty, according to interim Balochistan Information Minister Jan Achakzai, “damages relations” between Tehran and Islamabad.

“The adversary is attempting to invade Pakistan from the outside, particularly in Balochistan. The minister said, “The opponents’ schemes will never prevail.

Read More: Balochistan minister says violation of Pakistani sovereignty by Iran ‘damages relations’

Jaish al-Adl, which was founded in 2012 and is considered a terrorist organization by Iran, has carried out multiple attacks on Iranian territory in the past few years.

Iran has earlier undertaken missile strikes in Syria and the autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, targeting “terrorist” and “spy headquarters” respectively.

The Middle East is already gripped by several crises, including Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza and attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by pro-Palestinian Houthi rebels in Yemen. These developments are exacerbated by the Iranian strikes.