‘All options on the table,’ says Pakistan in response to Iranian airstrike

ISLAMABAD

Sources in the Pakistani intelligence said on Wednesday that Islamabad has “all options on the table” in response to Iran's "unprovoked" attack in southwestern Balochistan province.

Islamabad said late Tuesday that Iran violated its airspace and carried out an airstrike, killing two children and injuring three others.

In response, it recalled its ambassador from Iran, and suspended all high-level diplomatic exchanges with Tehran. The Iranian envoy to Pakistan, who is currently visiting Iran, has also been asked not to return.

The sources said a “very important and urgent” meeting regarding Iranian airstrikes was being held to discuss Pakistan’s response.

Iranian state media had claimed that its Revolutionary Guards carried out strikes on Jaish al-Adl militant group in the border town of Panjgur in Balochistan. The news reports, however, were later removed.

The sources said Pakistan was “aware of the regional situation and evaluated that Iran intends to remain on the agenda at a time when it is unable to make a significant contribution in ending the crisis” in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 24,000 people.

“Pakistan reserves the right to respond at the time, place, and manner of its own choosing,” the insiders said.

Calling the Iranian action as “not consistent with close relations” between the two neighboring nations, the officials called it “a deliberate, unprovoked, and gross violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.”

“This will not go unnoticed or responded."

*Writing by Gozde Bayar in Ankara