ISLAMABAD: Pakistan shot down an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) inside its territory on June 19, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement released Wednesday.
The UAV was shot down in Balochistan’s Panjgur district along the Pak-Iran border.
“The drone was hit by Pakistan Air Force as it was unidentified and flying around 3-4 kilometres inside Pakistani territory,” said the statement issued by the FO spokesman.
Pakistan has already shared the information about striking down of this drone with the Iranian authorities, the statement added.
The spokesman further added that Tehran has been conveyed that the UAV was unmarked and there was no prior information about its flight.
Iranian forces earlier fired mortar shells in Panjgur and Chaghai districts of Balochistan province, claiming life of a Pakistani civilian.
The cross-border shelling followed the killing of 10 Iranian border guards by militants which Tehran alleged were operating from Pakistan.
Early in May, the head of the Iranian armed forces warned Islamabad that Tehran would hit bases inside Pakistan if the government does not confront militants who carry out cross-border attacks into Iranian territory.
“We cannot accept the continuation of this situation,” Major General Mohammad Baqeri, the head of the Iranian armed forces was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.
“We expect the Pakistani officials to control the borders, arrest the terrorists and shut down their bases.”
“If the terrorist attacks continue, we will hit their safe havens and cells, wherever they are,” he said.
