Why in news?
- Recently, Iran bombed two bases of militant group Jaish al-Adl in Pakistan’s Balochistan province with missiles and drones.
- Iran has not yet specified the reason behind the attack.
- This attack killed two children and injured three others. As a result, Pakistan has recalled its ambassador and expelled the Iranian envoy.
What’s in today’s article?
- Sistan – Baluchestan
- Jaish al-Adl
- News Summary – India’s stand on recent attack & on fight against terrorism
Sistan-Baluchestan
- About
- Iran’s Baluch minority numbers between one and four million people, based mainly in the southeastern region of Sistan-Baluchestan.
- The region is poor and underdeveloped.
- Made up of rugged, mountainous terrain, it has become a haven for heroin and opium-smuggling from across the border with neighbouring Pakistan and Afghanistan.
- Demography
- The Baluchs who live there are mostly Sunni Muslims and identify themselves as part of an ancient tradition separate from that of Iran’s Persian ethnicity.
- The majority of Iran’s population are Shia.
- They identify themselves closely with the Baluch populations across the border in Pakistan.
- The Baluchs who live there are mostly Sunni Muslims and identify themselves as part of an ancient tradition separate from that of Iran’s Persian ethnicity.
Jaish al-Adl
- About
- Jaish al-Adl, literally the “Army of Justice”, are a Sunni Salafist militant group with bases in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
- These militants are active in the mountainous border regions of Pakistan and Iran.
- It was founded in 2012, and Iranian officials believe it largely operates in Pakistan.
- Group is fighting for
- Militants of this group assert that they are fighting to gain independence for the Sistan and Baluchestan province, also known as Asli Balouchestan.
- This province is located in the southeast of Iran, sharing borders with Pakistan’s Balochistan province and the Indian Ocean.
- Past attacks
- The group has allegedly been involved in a series of violent attacks in Iran, and has claimed bombings and kidnapped members of Iran’s border police.
- In December, suspected Jaish al-Adl members killed 11 people and wounded eight others in a night time attack on a police station in southeastern Iran.
- In 2019, Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing targeting a bus that killed 27 members of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
- Iran has suspected that Sunni-majority Pakistan is hosting insurgents, possibly at the behest of its regional archrival Saudi Arabia.
News Summary: Iran strikes militant group Jaish al-Adl bases in Pakistan
- As per media reports, the attack took place near Panjgur in southwest Balochistan.
- Earlier, Iran said that two bases belonging to Jaish al-Adl militants in Balochistan province were destroyed.
- This development is significant as it comes amid an escalating Middle East crisis led by the war in Gaza.
- Iran’s attack on Pakistan came less than a day after Iranian strikes on northern Iraq that killed several civilians.
- Iraq recalled its ambassador from Tehran for consultations and summoned Iran’s ambassador in Baghdad in protest.
- Iran separately struck Syria as well.
India’s stand on Iran’s missile strikes in Pakistan
- Zero tolerance towards terrorism
- This is a matter between Iran and Pakistan.
- However, as far as India is concerned, it follows an uncompromising position of zero tolerance towards terrorism.
- India supports actions that countries take in their self-defence.
- India silent on Iran’s strikes against Kurdish areas in Iraq, as well as in Syria
- Significantly, the MEA did not comment on Iran’s strikes against Kurdish areas in Iraq, as well as in Syria, all of which took place recently.
India’s position on terrorism
- Zero tolerance: India has an uncompromising position of zero tolerance towards terrorism.
- Self-defence: India understands actions that countries take in their self-defence. India recognizes the right of self-defence of legitimate national liberation movements.
- Non-state actors: India supports the use of force against non-state actors, but opposes the use of force against a state to counter-terrorism.
- Labelling: India opposes labelling terrorism based on the motivation behind such acts.
- Cooperation: India believes in the development of cooperation in the fight against terrorism.