Maulana Fazl calls for ‘positive steps’ to deal with Pak-Iran standoff

DI KHAN: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Friday stressed the need for ‘positive steps’ to deal with issues between Pakistan and Iran amid cross-border intrusions and heightened regional tension, ARY News reported.

Talking to journalists in Dera Ismail (DI) Khan, the JUI-F chief said that Iran should have contacted Pakistan before taking such “drastic action”, expressing concern over the “unprovoked airspace violation”.

“Iran should have sought assistance from Pakistan instead of taking action unilaterally”, Maulana Fazl said, emphasising on ‘positive steps’ to deal with issues.

He termed Pakistan’s retaliatory action ‘reciprocal’, saying that Iran had started the tension and Islamabad had every right to respond.

Pakistan struck terrorist hideouts in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province, less than 48 hours after Iran violated its airspace.

According to a statement issued by the military’s media affairs wing, “hideouts used by terrorist organisations namely Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF)” were struck in an intelligence-based operation codenamed ‘Marg Bar Sarmachar’.

“The targeted hideouts were being used by notorious terrorists including Dosta alias Chairman, Bajjar alias Soghat, Sahil alias Shafaq, Asghar alias Basham and Wazir alias Wazi, amongst others,” it added.

Pakistan Armed Forces remain in a perpetual state of readiness to ensure safety of Pakistan citizens against acts of terrorism, ISPR added.

Meanwhile, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported that nine people were killed in the attack targeting a village in the city of Saravan, with Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi saying all the dead “were foreign nationals”.