Pakistan says Iran’s statement on Parachinar clashes ‘unwarranted’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson on Thursday rejected Iran’s recent statement condemning violent clashes in its northwestern Parachinar town, saying it was “unwarranted” and based on an “incomplete picture” of the situation.
At least 32 people were killed and over 190 injured in clashes that erupted last week in Pakistan’s northwestern Kurram district, particularly its capital Parachinar town.
The Kurram tribal district has witnessed deadly conflicts among tribes and religious groups as well as sectarian clashes and militant attacks over the years. The latest clashes broke out over a property dispute last week and quickly spread to nearby villages and settlements before the warring tribes agreed to a ceasefire on Sunday.
In a statement on Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemned the “terrorist attack,” saying it had targeted Shia Muslims in Pakistan. He stressed the need for decisive action against militant groups to protect the lives of the people of Parachinar. 
“Such statements about Pakistan’s domestic affairs are therefore unwarranted,” Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, (MoFA) said during a weekly press briefing. 
“While details may be sought from the Ministry of Interior, we believe that these statements are based on an incomplete picture of the situation in Parachinar,” she added.
Baloch said Pakistan values the life, dignity and prosperity of all of its nationals as a multicultural and multifaith society.
“Pakistan is fully determined to foster social harmony, tolerance, and mutual respect,” she said.
Pakistan and Iran have had a history of rocky relations despite several commercial pacts. Their highest profile agreement is a stalled gas supply deal signed in 2010 to build a pipeline from Iran’s Fars gas field to Pakistan’s southern provinces of Balochistan and Sindh.
Pakistan and Iran also find themselves at odds due to the instability along their shared porous border, with their leaders routinely trading blame after militant attacks in their respective territories.
Earlier this year in January, the two countries exchanged airstrikes, with each government claiming to have targeted militant hideouts in the other country. Both states have since made peace overtures and restored bilateral ties through multiple high-level visits.