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ISLAMABAD: Pak\u00adistan military on Saturday dismissed media reports that Iranian forces had eliminated a Jaishul Adl \u2018commander\u2019 inside Pakis\u00adtani territory, suggesting the claims were aimed at mitigating the embarrassment arising from the recent \u2018Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cSocial media and some foreign media are spreading false propaganda that Iranian forces have killed a commander of Jaishul Adl on Pakistani soil. No such incident happened on Pakistani soil,\u201d a military source claimed.<\/p>\n
Iranian media had initially reported that security forces on Friday killed Esmaeil Shahbakhsh, a militant associated with Jaishul Adl terrorist group. While some Iranian reports were ambiguous about the location of Shahbakhsh\u2019s death, the Tehran Times<\/em> explicitly stated that the operation occurred within Pakistan.<\/p>\n The military source said a \u201cfalse narrative was being created by portraying the recent killing, which happened due to cross-firing between smuggler groups as a counter-terrorism operation\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cVarious false narratives are being fabricated to clear the embarrassment caused by Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s airstrikes<\/a> on Jan 18 against alleged Baloch insurgents\u2019 hideouts in Iran, which were carried out in retaliation to Iranian missile attacks<\/a> on a sanctuary of Jaishul Adl on Pakistani territory are codenamed \u2018Operation Marg Bar Sarmchar\u2019.<\/p>\n \u2018Unscheduled\u2019 phone call<\/strong><\/p>\n Shahbakhsh was implicated in recent terrorist activities in southeastern Iran, with the Tehran Times<\/em> describing his death as the outcome of a \u2018sophisticated intelligence and military operation\u2019 by Iranian forces.<\/p>\n Pakistani and Iranian foreign ministers had, meanwhile, spoken over the phone late Friday evening, which was claimed by some diplomatic sources as unscheduled.<\/p>\n The Foreign Office explained that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had called to congratulate Pakistan on recent elections and reiterate the desire to strengthen bilateral ties.<\/p>\n