Davos 2024: Pakistan Caretaker PM Shortens Trip Amidst Iran Strikes

The decision to cut short the visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos by Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar has been announced by the government after strikes in Iran were declared, as stated by foreign ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a press conference, reported AFP.

"He has decided to cut short his visit given the ongoing developments," foreign ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a press conference.

Strikes against militant targets in Iran were claimed by Pakistan on Thursday and a death toll of seven civilians after its air raid in Pakistan earlier this week, reported Tehran. Simmering insurgencies along their sparsely populated border regions are being battled by both nuclear-armed Pakistan and neighbouring Iran.

The cross-border attacks contribute to multiple crises across the Middle East, including Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza and Huthi rebels in Yemen attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea, reported NDTV.

"This morning Pakistan undertook a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts" in Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan province, reads the statement released by Pakistan's foreign ministry.

The action was taken in light of "credible intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activities," and it was added that "a number of terrorists were killed." In blasts around the city of Saravan in Iran's southeast, at least three women and four children were reported killed by Iran's official IRNA news agency.

An "informed official" was quoted by state media as saying, "An immediate explanation from the Pakistani authorities about this incident is demanded by Iran."

Accusations of allowing militants to operate from each other's territory to launch attacks are frequently made by Tehran and Islamabad. Official forces on either side rarely engage. "The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran are fully respected by Pakistan," stated Islamabad's foreign ministry.

The sole objective of today's act was in pursuit of Pakistan's own security and national interest, which is paramount and cannot be compromised.