A day after India struck multiple “terrorist camps” in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to last month’s deadly terror attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi urged India and Pakistan to exercise restraint during a visit to New Delhi on Thursday, according to state media.
“We hope that India and Pakistan will prevent the escalation of tension in the region,” Araqchi said, reiterating calls for restraint he made during his visit to Pakistan on Monday.
Islamabad rejected Indian allegations that it had terrorist camps on its territory and pledged to respond to Indian strikes, which it said killed at least 31 civilians.
New Delhi warned any Pakistani response would warrant retaliation, fuelling fears of a larger military conflict in one of the world’s most dangerous – and most populated – nuclear flashpoint regions.
Araqchi’s visit to India was pre-planned to attend a joint economic commission between the two countries.
“Our region needs peace, especially to expand economic cooperation between regional countries, and we hope this will happen,” the foreign minister added.
Operation Sindoor
The Indian Armed Forces in the wee hours on May 7 launched Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist camps at nine locations inside Pakistan and PoK, to avenge the Pahalgam terrorist attack, in which 26 people, all men and mostly Hindu tourists, were killed on April 22.
“A little while ago, the Indian Armed Forces launched ‘OPERATION SINDOOR’, hitting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir from where terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed,” the Ministry of Defence said in a media release.
According to a statement by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the operation was aimed at neutralising terror camps actively involved in planning and executing attacks against India. A total of nine sites have been hit during the strike.
(With inputs from Reuters)
