Pakistan and Iran have agreed on the return of their respective ambassadors by January 26, following a series of missile strikes and drone attacks between the two nations. A joint statement from the Pakistan foreign office on Monday revealed that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian will visit Pakistan on January 29 at the invitation of Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani.
Expressing his satisfaction, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran, Mudassir Tipu, shared his thoughts on X, stating, “So delighted that the leaderships of both Pakistan and Iran so deftly handled a challenging moment astutely—swiftly putting relations back on track. We have great potential ahead, and both brotherly countries must collectively promote peace and development in the region.”
The diplomatic tensions arose on January 17 when Pakistan withdrew its ambassador from Iran, protesting a “blatant breach” of its sovereignty after Tehran launched missile attacks on militant bases in southwestern Pakistan. In response, Pakistan conducted retaliatory strikes inside Iran on January 18, targeting hideouts used by terrorist organizations, specifically the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
The events raised concerns about wider instability in the Middle East, already affected by the conflict between Israel and Hamas since October 7.
(Inputs from ANI)