Pakistan will hold a security review on Friday amid global calls for calm a day after the Sunni-majority nation launched tit-for-tat airstrikes against Shiite-dominated Iran.

The Muslim neighbours appeared to have toned down their rhetoric overnight on Friday after regional power China offered mediation and global bodies and nations urged restraint.

Information minister Murtaza Solangi said political leaders and service chiefs would hold an emergency huddle.

Pakistani fighter jets and drones on Thursday bombed alleged hideouts of separatists inside Iran in response to similar strikes by Tehran on Tuesday to target a Sunni militant group.

The minister added that the country’s cabinet would later meet to endorse the decision taken at the National Security Committee.

The meetings were being held as officials from both sides voiced hope they could move past the strikes.

“Pakistan and Iran have fraternal relations and shall move forward to resolve all issues through positive dialogue,” Rahim Hayat Qureshi, one of Islamabad’s top diplomats, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Mr Qureshiin’s post was in response to similar sentiments expressed by an Iranian counterpart.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said overnight he was deeply concerned about the recent exchange of military strikes between Iran and Pakistan.

“He urges both countries to exercise maximum restraint to avoid a further escalation of tensions,” his spokesman said in a statement.

Regional powers, including China, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, have also called for de-escalation. 

(dpa/NAN)