In unprecedented diplomatic row, Pakistan recalls envoy from Iran

ISLAMABAD: In an unprecedented development, Pakistan on Wednesday downgraded its bilateral relations with Iran, asking Ambassador in Tehran, Mudassar Tipu, to return home and at the same time asked Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam not to return to Pakistan “for the time being” while completely suspending all high-level ongoing visits.

If Moghadam had been present in Pakistan, he would have been “expelled”, another first for Pak-Iran bilateral relations. But the Foreign Office appears to have left a window open for an ally by specifically underlining that Moghadam should not return “for the time being”. “We have informed Iran that 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. We have also decided to suspend all high level visits which were ongoing or were planned between Pakistan and Iran in the coming days,” the spokesperson at the Foreign Office announced.

A Pakistani trade delegation presently in Iran’s port city of Chahbahar, which was to sign important agreements on Thursday, has also been asked to return home as soon as possible. The spokesperson said these diplomatic measures were taken because of Tuesday night’s “unprovoked and blatant breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty by Iran which is a violation of international law and the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations”. She once again reminded Tehran that “the responsibility for the consequences will lie squarely with Iran”.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran Mudassar Tipu is returning from Tehran today (Thursday). It is understood that besides conducting high-level briefings, the ambassador would also attend a meeting at the Foreign Office to review the overall situation with Foreign Secretary Dr. Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi in the chair. According to sources at the Foreign Office, visa services haven’t been suspended with Iran and they would be available without any interruption.

Interestingly, diplomatic sources and those in the security establishment confirm to The News that during the visit of Iran’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Affairs Hassan Kazmi Qomi, the senior diplomat did not raise the issue of Jaish al-Adl in any of the meetings he held in Islamabad. “These were very good meetings in which Pakistan underscored its commitment to a peaceful and stable Afghanistan and emphasised the need for enhanced coordination for regional stability, while Qomi was on the same page supporting regional solutions and the end of threats emanating from Afghanistan,” the sources maintained.

Also surprisingly, just before 8:30 pm Pakistan time on Tuesday when Iranian missiles and drones hit Balochistan, the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar and again no specific mention of the Iranian terrorist group came up for discussion.

In fact, immediately after Pakistan’s strong reaction as Iran violated Pakistan’s airspace, Abdollahian on Wednesday commented to the media in Davos that his country’s armed forces targeted an “Iranian terrorist group” in Pakistan the day before after Islamabad said the strike killed two children. “None of the nationals of the friendly and brotherly country of Pakistan were targeted by Iranian missiles and drones. The so-called Jaish al-Adl group, which is an Iranian terrorist group, was targeted,” he added. The foreign minister said Iran respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan but would not “allow the country’s national security to be compromised or played with”. However, the sources in the Foreign Office have emphatically denied the presence and targeting of any bases of so-called Jaish al-Adl in Balochistan.

According to Iran’s embassy, its Ambassador Moghadam is currently in Tehran for consultations and was expected to return next week. When The News asked Iran’s diplomatic mission here about the development and Tehran’s reaction, the Press Attache shared an interview with Iran’s foreign minister in Davos. He maintained that the mission was clueless about the gloomy events since their source of information was Pakistan’s media and social media. Iran’s Charge D’ Affaires Dr Nabi Sherazi was not available for his views and was summoned by the Foreign Office late last night to handle the demarche about the protest.

News Desk adds: Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, who is currently leading the Pakistan delegation to the Ministerial Meeting of Non-Aligned Movement in Kampala, Uganda, received a telephone call from Foreign Minister of Iran Hossein Amir Abdollahian, said a Foreign Office statement.

Jalil Abbas firmly underscored that the attack conducted by Iran inside Pakistani territory on January 16, 2024, was not only a serious breach of Pakistan’s sovereignty but was also an egregious violation of international law and the spirit of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Iran. Expressing Pakistan’s unreserved condemnation of the attack, the caretaker foreign minister added that the incident has caused serious damage to bilateral ties between Pakistan and Iran. He added that Pakistan reserved the right to respond to this provocative act. Stressing that terrorism was a common threat to the region and required concerted and coordinated efforts to combat this menace, Jalil Abbas underlined that unilateral actions could seriously undermine regional peace and stability. No country in the region should tread this perilous path.

Earlier, Iranian news agency Mehrnews said the “missile and drone response” targeted the Jaish al-Adl group’s headquarters in Pakistan, calling it “another decisive step taken by Iran in response to the aggression against the security of our country”. The strike came after Iran launched missile attacks on “spy headquarters” and “terrorist” targets in Syria, and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. Iran defended its missile strikes in Iraq and Syria, saying they were a “targeted operation” and “just punishment” against those who breached the Islamic Republic’s security.

Meanwhile, China was the first foreign country to react to Tuesday night’s strikes inside Pakistan but it did not outright condemn Iran. Instead, the Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the daily briefing commented: “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.”

PMLN Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, who keeps a close eye on Tehran, said: “Pakistan’s response to Iran’s aggression is correct, mature and measured, showing restraint and preventing escalation. However, Iranian government must rein in its trigger-happy ‘Deep State’, the Revolutionary Guards, whose provocative actions are damaging not only Pakistan-Iran relations but also destabilising the region to the detriment of Iran’s own interests.”

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif said he was “shocked at the Iranian breach of Pakistani sovereignty”. He also extended condolences to the grieving families. “This missile attack is against the spirit of our friendship and principles of good neighbourliness, especially as it undermines the historic relationship between our two countries,” Shehbaz said, stressing that sincere dialogue and meaningful cooperation between the two countries was the need of the hour.

Pakistan Peoples Party leader Senator Sherry Rehman termed the incident “unacceptable and condemnable”. “Pakistan has acted with restraint whenever there’s been turbulence on the Pak-Iran border by terrorist groups, and always sought collective responses to the transnational challenge of terrorism,” she wrote on X. She further stated that such strikes eroded Muslim unity at an “existential moment of great need for jointly navigating forums for cooperation while the traffic and painful genocide in Gaza at the hand of Israel”.

“Thirdly, de-escalation will need Tehran to understand that violence and conflict are exactly what non-state actors and terrorists are seeking. That gives them fertile ground for metastasising,” she said. Sherry added that Pakistan had no stakes in “fanning the flames of such conflict but will obviously have to respond if better sense does not prevail”.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) also strongly condemned Iran’s unprovoked violation of Pakistan’s airspace, saying that this irresponsible and reprehensible act would sabotage the possibilities of much-needed unity among the Ummah in this hour of need.

A PTI spokesperson expressed his heartfelt condolences to the victims’ families and said that Iran attempted to ruin the prospects of inevitable harmony and unity among the Ummah with an unprovoked violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. He sought an immediate explanation from the caretaker government for its complete failure to safeguard the integrity, security and defence of Pakistan.

The PTI spokesperson pointed out that after India and Afghanistan, the serious deterioration of relations with Iran is very concerning and worrisome.

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) also strongly regretted the violation of Pakistan’s airspace and airstrike by Iran observing that such actions would only please the common enemies of the two countries. In a statement, JI Director Foreign Affairs Asif Luqman Qazi said that the two countries should resolve their outstanding issues through talks. Qazi pointed out that at a time when Israel was busy with the genocide of people in Gaza, such extreme actions on the part of Iran would have adverse impacts on the focus of Ummah on the Palestine issue. He called upon the leadership of the two countries to demonstrate solidarity on the Kashmir issue instead of indulging in any controversies and disputes. The JI leader also asked the two sides to demonstrate restraint and not fall prey to conspiracies of enemies of Ummah.

Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi also strongly condemned the incident. He expressed his deep sense of sorrow and grief over the martyrdom of two children. Naqvi maintained that Pakistan is an independent and sovereign state and such an action committed by Iran amounted to a blatant violation of international laws, adding that such an action was highly intolerable and unacceptable. “The whole nation strongly condemns the Iranian aggression.” Naqvi outlined that the Pakistan Army holds the potent ability to give a befitting reply to any aggression.

Speaking to Geo News, former foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry condemned Iranian air attacks in Balochistan, terming them a breach of the territorial integrity of Pakistan. “Terrorism is a common threat to both countries, however, territorial integrity shouldn’t be breached,” the former diplomat said, adding Iran shouldn’t get involved in such unilateral actions and that it is not a good option for its bid to make things better.

Aizaz recommended both countries stay calm and deal with all issues amicably instead of worsening ties. The ex-foreign secretary said Islamabad has given a “very tough” and “just” response to Tehran. “Islamabad has also had complaints with Tehran. Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav entered Pakistani territory from Iran. Former Taliban top leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor had also used the Iranian border and the transborder movement of BLA militants,” he continued. However, Islamabad had always shown patience on several events to settle things diplomatically instead of escalating matters with unilateral moves. “Despite a tough response, the matters shouldn’t be escalated as we are not going to war.”

Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center, warned of the seriousness of the strike. “Iran has staged cross-border operations against Pakistan-based militants in the past, but I don´t recall anything on this scale,” he said on X. “This plunges Pakistan-Iran ties -- a delicate relationship even in the best of times -- into serious crisis.”

Earlier, Iraq also recalled its ambassador from Iran, condemning as a “clear act of aggression” after deadly missile strikes by its ally on its autonomous Kurdish region. Four people were killed and six others were wounded in the attack, according to the Kurdistan security council.

Iraq challenged Iran’s claim that the strikes targeted Israel’s intelligence services in response to recent Israeli assassinations of Iranian and pro-Iranian commanders. It said it would lodge a complaint with the UN Security Council over the Iranian “attack on its sovereignty”.