tension rises between Iran and Pakistan, against a backdrop of strikes

Around a hundred people took to the streets of Islamabad (Pakistan) chanting anti-Iran slogans on Thursday January 18. A response to the Iranian strikes on Pakistani soil on Tuesday, but also support for the Pakistani strikes on Iran. The Pakistani army is strengthening its presence in Quetta, capital of the province of Baluchistan, where the separatists targeted by the shots in Iranian territory come from. “If Pakistan continues to turn a blind eye to its own security policy, it is possible that a country from the West or the East might decide to attack us and we would not be prepared for that”judge Muhammad Younas Baloch, local politician.

A decades-long conflict around the border

Iran and Pakistan have faced tensions on their shared 1,000 km border for decades. But this is the first time that the two neighbors have come into open conflict. The European Union still hopes to put out the fire. China, which maintains close ties with the two belligerents, has said it is ready to play a role in calming the conflict.