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Iran strikes militant group Jaish al-Adl bases in Pakistan

ByULF TEAM

Jan 18, 2024 #Articles
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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.

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.

 

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