Khudayar Mohla –
While terming recent happening of killing the Iran’s military commander General Qasem Soleimani by a US air strike in Iraq as a serious threat to stability in the region on Friday, Pakistan urged to resolve the issue through diplomatic means under UN Charter and international law.
Iran’s elite Quds force head Qasim Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq on Friday. The attack targeted a vehicle near Baghdad Airport. Reportedly, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, vice president of Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi group, or Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) has also lost his life in the attack.
The attack took place in the wake of increasing tensions with the US after thousands of Iran-backed protesters stormed the US Embassy compound in Baghdad protesting against U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria that killed 25 fighters of Kataib Hezbollah.
In a statement, Foreign office says, “Respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity are the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, which should be adhered to. It is also important to avoid unilateral actions and use of force. All parties are urged to exercise maximum restraint, engage constructively to de-escalate the situation, and resolve issues through diplomatic means, in accordance with UN Charter and international law”.
Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev has called the U.S. killing of a key Iranian military commander “the worst-case scenario,” saying he believed that Iranian retribution “will not take long,”.
Known as the mastermind of Iran’s military strategy, Qasim Soleimani was born in 1955 in Kerman province of Iran to a farmer’s family. In his childhood, he worked as a construction worker. Soleimani continued his education until high school and then worked in Kerman city municipality until the Iranian Islamic revolution in 1979.
After the Iranian revolution against the Shah succeeded, he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in early 1980. Soleimani also led an Iranian elite force known as Thar Allah 41 corps in Kerman city during the 8-year-long war. Following the war, he was promoted to be among the best ten military commanders of Iranian contingents spread across the borders with Iraq.
Soleimani was appointed commander of the Quds Force in 1998, and promoted as general. In 2015, the Iranian commander achieved a celebrity status in Iran. Documentaries and pop songs were made on him and Shia fighters in Iraq made a video showing soldiers spray-painting his portrait on a wall.
Allegations of ‘terrorism’
The US had declared Soleimani a “terrorist and supporter of terrorism”. He was among those Iranians who were sanctioned by the UN Security Council resolution 1747. In 2011, he was accused by the US of supporting the Syrian regime by providing arms. That’s when the US imposed more sanctions on him.Later, European sanctions were imposed on three Iranian commanders of the Revolutionary Guards including Soleimani for supporting the Assad regime.
Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said in her tweet, “Killing of General Suleimani by US has in an instant upped the military ante in the region as Iran has declared it an act of war. It is in no one’s interest to have a war in an already volatile region. Brinkmanship is a dangerous strategy 4 all. UNSG must move to defuse situation”.
The Moscow Times reported on Friday that Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev has called the U.S. killing of a key Iranian military commander “the worst-case scenario,” saying he believed that Iranian retribution “will not take long,”.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the world is now “confronted with a new reality.” Besides, Russian Senator Calls U.S. Killing of Top Iranian General ‘Worst Case Scenario,’ Expects New U.S.-Iran Clashes.
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