Shafaqna Pakistan:Pakistan on Friday advised all parties to remain patient and “resolve issues through diplomatic means”, the Foreign Office said, hours after a top Iranian commander, Qassem Soleimani, was killed in a strike by the United States.
In a statement issued Friday, the FO said the country was observing the situation “with deep concern” and the tensions “seriously threaten peace and stability in” Middle East. It urged “respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity [which] are the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, which should be adhered to.
“It is also important to avoid unilateral actions and use of force.
“All parties are urged to exercise maximum restraint, engage constructively to de-escalate the situation, and resolve issues through diplomatic means, in accordance with UN Charter and international law,” the statement read.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded strongly, vowing to take “severe revenge” for the commander’s death
Soleimani, the Iranian commander, was killed in a US strike on Baghdad’s international airport earlier today in the most dramatic episode yet of escalating tensions between the two countries.
‘Attack by America’
The Pentagon said US President Donald Trump had ordered Soleimani’s “killing” after a pro-Iran mob this week laid siege to the country’s embassy. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded strongly, vowing to take “severe revenge” for the commander’s death and declaring three days of mourning.
Trump, on the other hand, tweeted a picture of the Star-Spangled Banner without any explanation as the pre-dawn developments indicated a major escalation yet in a feared proxy war between Iran and the US on Iraqi soil.
The Revolutionary Guard Corps announced Soleimani “was martyred in an attack by America on Baghdad airport” just a little after a volley of missiles hit the city, striking a convoy belonging to the Hashed al-Shaabi, an Iraqi paramilitary force with close ties to Iran.
The Hashed confirmed both Soleimani and its deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis were killed.
‘Much, much, much worse’
Last year, on July 23, Prime Minister Imran Khan had said of the US-Iran tensions that “people don’t understand the gravity of the situation”. Addressing an event at the US Institute of Peace, he had stressed that a war between Washington and Tehran would be catastrophic for the world as well as for Pakistan.
A conflict with Iran would unleash terrorism that will make the world forget about Al-Qaeda, he had said. “You know, this is not going to be the same as Iraq; this could be much, much, much worse. It will have great consequences for Pakistan,” he had said.
Pakistan was “willing to do anything” to help the US and Iran avoid a clash, he had underscored, warning that Tehran should not be “pushed into a situation where this leads to a conflict”.