Islamabad's inaction on militants, domestic pressure forced Iran to strike Pakistan: Report

After an alarming flare up, Pakistan and Iran have shown signs that they don't want the situation to escalate. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told Bloomberg on Friday that they don't want an escalation. "We also got similar kind of sentiments from their side. So we are taking it further," she said.

The two Muslim nations bombed 'militant' targets in each other's territory, prompting the United States and China to play peacemakers. Here's a look at the underlying causes that triggered the conflict.

The Iranian strike on Pakistan was driven by the country's efforts to bolster its internal security and not in furtherance of its Middle East ambitions, Reuters reported, citing three sources.

Iran on Tuesday targeted the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl. The Shia-dominated country claims the group has links with the Islamic State as many of its militants were part of now-defunct, ISIS-linked Jundullah.

The flare up was a result of a long struggle between Iran and Pakistan over separatist groups and Islamist militants operating out of remote borderlands. They often attack government targets, and the two countries accuse each other of having involvement in the bloodshed.

Gregory Brew, an analyst at Eurasia Group, told Reuters that Iran's strikes were triggered by its concerns on domestic violence perpetrated by militants. The flare up comes days after the Islamic State carried out the January 3 attack in Iran.

Also read: Iran-Pakistan battle theatre: How will it impact India?

He said the Iranian leadership is responding to domestic pressure to do something.

On Thursday, Iran said it considers the security of its people and territorial integrity as a red line. It also asked Pakistan to prevent armed militants from making bases on its soil.

Pressure on Iran

Over 100 people died on January 3 after a bomb exploded at a ceremony in the southeastern city of Kerman to commemorate commander Qassem Soleimani. Iran vowed revenge against the Islamic State, a Sunni terrorist organisation.

Iran's ruling clerics found the bombing as an embarrassment as it showed the country's security to be vulnerable, a confidante of the leadership told the agency.

The strike against Pakistan showed the administration and the security agencies' capabilities, it added.

It sent out a message that “terrorist attacks will get a crushing response from Iran”.

Also read: Pakistan says killed ‘terrorists’ in Iran through 'precision military strikes': Top Updates

Inaction from Pakistan

A security official told the news agency that Iran had been providing Pakistan with evidence that Jaish al-Adl was involved in the Kerman attack. He said Iran also found proof that they were planning more attacks on Iran. They wanted Pakistan to act against the group. However, since no action was taken, they had to launch the strike.

The anonymous security official told the agency that Iran has warned the world that action against its national security won't go unanswered.

The officer also said Iran had been pressing Pakistan for years to resolve the issue of the presence of terrorists near its border.

"The missile strikes were a sign that Tehran has lost patience," Brew said.

The analyst said Iran also showed the world its resolve to defend itself amid regional tensions over the Gaza war.

Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, a Washington-based think tank, said bilateral tension on border security was a longstanding problem for Iran and Pakistan.

He said de-escalation would be difficult in the immediate term, "given the high tensions and temperatures at play", he said.

With inputs from Reuters

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