Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar

Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar
Part of the 2024 Iran–Pakistan border skirmishes and insurgency in Balochistan
Saravan
Type	Air strikes and missile strikes
Location	Saravan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran 27°22′15″N 62°19′57″E
Planned by	Pakistan
Target	BLA and BLF militant groups
Date	18 January 2024 04:05 IRST (UTC+03:30)
Executed by	Pakistan Armed Forces
Casualties	9 people killed, several injured

On 18 January 2024, Pakistan launched a series of air and artillery strikes inside Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province, targeting Baloch separatist groups, codenamed Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar (Urdu: آپریشن مرگ بر سرمچار, lit. 'Death to Insurgents') by Pakistan. The attack was launched in response to the Iranian missile strikes in Pakistan's Balochistan province, one day earlier.

Iran said that nine foreign nationals were killed in the attack. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) confirmed that its members were among those killed.

This attack marked the first known instance of a foreign country launching an attack on Iranian soil since the end of the Iran–Iraq War in 1988.

Etymology

Marg Bar Sarmachar means "death to insurgents". Marg Bar means "death to" in the Persian language, commonly used in the Iranian slogan Marg Bar Amrika. Sarmachar means "insurgents" or "guerrilla" in Balochi language; it is the term used by Baloch militants to identify its fighters.

Background

Main article: 2024 Iranian missile strikes in Pakistan

According to Pakistan, the attack was launched in retaliation for a missile strike carried out by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the border area of Pakistan's Balochistan province. The Iranian strike allegedly targeted the Jaish ul-Adl militant group on 16 January 2024, resulting in the deaths of two children and injuring four people, as reported by Pakistan.

Attack

At 04:05 IRST (UTC+03:30), the Pakistani Air Force and Army launched an attack using drones, multiple rocket launchers, loitering munitions, and stand-off weapons at seven separate locations of Baloch separatist groups in the Iranian city of Saravan in Sistan and Baluchestan province. Iran said that nine people were killed during the attack, including four children, three women, and two men, who were non-Iranians.

Sources in the Pakistani military said that its aircraft and drones penetrated approximately 12 miles (20 km) into Iranian territory to target the militant hideouts.

Aftermath

The Balochistan Liberation Army acknowledged the deaths of its people in the operation and vowed "revenge" against the Pakistani state.

On 27 January, nine Pakistanis were killed by unknown assailants in Saravan.

On 30 January, the BLA claimed responsibility for a rocket and gun attack on Pakistani security forces in Machh, Balochistan Province that left a police officer and six attackers dead and 15 security officers injured.

Reactions

Pakistan

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Pakistan "undertook a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts" that killed "a number of terrorists" in an operation codenamed "Marg Bar Sarmachar", adding that the attacks were launched due to "lack of action" by Iran regarding the presence of "Pakistani origin terrorists" on its soil. According to the Pakistani military's Inter-Services Public Relations, the targeted hideouts were being used by militants from the Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Baluch Liberation Front (BLF), including, among others, Dosta alias chairman, Bajjar alias Soghat, Sahil alias Shafaq, Asghar alias Basham, and Wazir alias Wazi.

Following the attack, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar cut short his attendance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and returned home to convene an emergency meeting of the National Security Council on 19 January. Foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, who was on a visit to Uganda, also cut short his visit and returned to Pakistan.

On 19 January Anwaar ul Haq Kakar announced that normal diplomatic relations with Iran had been restored, following a foreign ministry statement that said that there was agreement to de-escalate the conflict.

Iran

The Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on its territory and summoned the Pakistani chargé d'affaires to provide an explanation about the incident.

The Iranian government was heavily criticized on social media for its weak response against the attacks, its description of the dead as non-Iranians and initial downplaying of the incident.

On 29 January, foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited Pakistan as part of efforts to de-escalate tensions following the attacks.

Other countries

• Afghanistan: The Taliban called the attacks in Pakistan and Iran "alarming", calling for both sides to exercise restraint.
• China: The Government of China offered to mediate between Pakistan and Iran and hoped that both sides exercise calm and restraint and avoid an escalation of tensions.
• Japan: The Government of Japan appealed for restraint.
• Russia: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern over the "escalation of the situation in the Iran–Pakistan border area" and called on the two countries to "exercise maximum restraint and to resolve emerging issues exclusively through political and diplomatic means."
• Turkey: The Government of Turkey called for calm and recommended that the sides do not escalate further and that calm should be restored as soon as possible.
• United States: The State Department said there was "no need for escalation" of the tensions.

Supranational organizations

• European Union: The bloc expressed "utmost concern" over the Pakistani attack as well as the preceding Iranian attack, saying that "they violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries" and produce "a destabilising effect on the region."
• United Nations: Secretary-General António Guterres stated he was "deeply concerned about the recent exchange of military strikes" and called on both countries to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation of tensions.

See also

• 2024 Iranian missile strikes in Pakistan