ISLAMABAD: The ambassadors of Pakistan and Iran would return to their respective capitals on Thursday, days after the two neighbours were on the brink of a major conflict in the wake of tit-for-tat missile strikes.
Official sources told The Express Tribune on Wednesday that Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran Mudassir Tipu would return to Tehran on January 25. Similarly, the Iranian envoy Dr Reza Amiri Moghadam will resume his duties this week.
Pakistan withdrew its envoy and asked the Iranian Ambassador to stay back in protest over Iran’s missile strikes in Panjgur, Balochistan on January 16.
Iran claimed the strikes hit the alleged hideouts of the Jaish-al Adl group, a militant outfit operating from Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province.
Pakistan, shocked by the Iranian violation of its air space, condemned the transgression and contested its claims that strikes killed terrorists. Islamabad said those strikes only killed two innocent children and injured three girls.
Two days later, Pakistan mounted its own reply, targeting what it said were hideouts of Baloch terrorist organisations. Iran admitted those killed in Pakistani strikes were not its nationals.
After Pakistan’s retaliatory strikes, the two sides were quick to climb down the escalation ladder. Both sides established contacts and agreed to de-escalate tensions. The foreign ministers of Pakistan and Iran spoke thrice by telephone as part of hectic efforts to defuse tensions.
The two countries then agreed to restore full diplomatic ties with the return of ambassadors to each other’s capitals.
To take the normalisation process forward, the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian will visit Pakistan on January 29. Sources said tensions may have eased between the two countries but the military standoff shook the foundation of their ties.
Sources said the two sides during the visit of the Iranian FM would discuss ways and means to prevent the recurrence of such a situation in the future.
One source said the rupture caused by last week’s tit-for-tat attacks would take time to heal. The two countries often boast their “friendly and brotherly” ties but underneath do exist certain issues that undermine their cooperation.
At the heart of the issue is the presence of certain militant groups on both sides of the border.
The recent tension has brought that issue to the public more pronouncedly, the source explained, saying the two sides would have to agree on new terms of engagement.
The source said that without a new arrangement given the last week’s hiccup, there may remain a possibility of tensions erupting in the future.
The two sides have been working quietly to agree on a new framework dealing with the threat of terrorism since the de-escalation of tensions. The visit of the Iranian FM is seen as significant as that would set the direction for the future. –Agencies
