'Actions taken in self-defence': India issues statement on Iranian strikes in Pakistan

The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday distanced from the ongoing rift between Tehran and Islamabad, saying "this is a matter between Iran and Pakistan". "We have an uncompromising position of zero tolerance towards terrorism. We understand actions that countries take in their self defense," said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson, MEA. 

On Tuesday, Tehran launched an unprecedented missile and drone strike on what it said were terrorist bases of a Sunni militant group in the restive Balochistan province of Pakistan. Following this, Pakistan warned Iran of serious consequences, and recalled its ambassador to Iran, and suspended all high-level planned bilateral visits in the coming days. 

A member of Iran's Revolutionary Guards was shot dead in Balochistan which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan. This attack followed Iranian strikes at two bases of the militant group Jaish ul-Adl in Balochistan on Tuesday.

In now-deleted reports, state-run Iranian media said that "precision missile and drone strikes" were aimed at two strongholds of the Sunni terrorist group Jaish al-Adl (known as Jaish al-Dhulm in Iran). 

Tehran claimed its missile strikes were aimed at militant groups involved in attacks on its territory, but Pakistan rejected that explanation and strongly condemned the airstrike while warning of retaliation.

Pakistan confirmed the attack, claiming two children were killed, and three others were injured in strikes. The Foreign Office of Pakistan described it as an "unprovoked violation of its airspace" by Iran.

Tehran has repeatedly warned 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. 

Jaish al-Adl, or the "Army of Justice", is a Sunni militant group founded in 2012 that largely operates in Pakistan. Iran has fought in border areas against the militants, but a missile-and-drone attack on Pakistan would be unprecedented for Tehran. 

Jaish al-Adl is the "most active and influential" Sunni militant group operating in Sistan-Baluchestan, according to the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence. 

Last month, at least 11 Iranian police officers were killed in an attack overnight on a police station in the southeastern province of Sistan-Balochistan, according to Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, who blamed the Jaish al-Adl for the incident. He claimed the Jaish militants had entered Sistan from the Pakistan side near Panjgur. 

On July 23 last year, four Iranian policemen were killed while on patrol near the border in an attack claimed by the Jaish Al Adl. In May, five Iranian border guards died in clashes with an armed group in Saravan, southeast of Zahedan, the provincial capital of Sistan-Balochistan.

(With inputs from PTI)