Pakistan seeks to de-escalate crisis with Iran after deadly airstrikes that spiked tensions

Source: Associated Press

Pakistan seeks to de-escalate crisis with Iran after deadly airstrikes that spiked tensions

BY MUNIR AHMED AND JON GAMBRELL
Updated 12:42 PM EST, January 19, 2024

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s political and military leaders on Friday moved to de-escalate tensions with Iran after this week’s deadly airstrikes by Tehran and Islamabad that killed at least 11 people and marked a significant escalation in fraught relations between the neighbors.

The decision was apparently reached at a meeting of Pakistan’s National Security Committee, chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul-Haq-Kakar on his return home after cutting short his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Pakistan’s powerful army chief Gen. Asim Munir attended the meeting.

A statement after the meeting said the leadership discussed the situation following the Iranian airstrikes and praised the “professional, calibrated and proportionate response” by Pakistan’s military.

The committee stressed that existing communication channels between Pakistan and Iran “should be used to address each other’s security concerns in the larger interest of regional peace and stability,” according to the statement.

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