Reacting to Iran’s attack on Israel in retaliation for the latter’s attack on its embassy in Damascus on April 1, Pakistan on Sunday expressed its deep concern over the deteriorating situation in the Middle East (ME) and called for restraint, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

In a press briefing, the Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson said that Pakistan was closely monitoring the situation in the region. “For the last several months, the country has been underscoring the need for cessation of hostilities and diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza,” she said.

But the fresh incidents being reported from the region, the spokesperson regretted, were a proof that diplomatic efforts had failed to produce the desired results. “We must bear this thing in mind that the current situation has devastating repercussions for peace in the region,” she said, and added, “In this case, too, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has completely failed to maintain peace.”

The spokesperson said there was a greater need for stabilizing the situation in the Middle East through the restoration of peace.

She said Pakistan demanded all parties to the conflict to exercise restraint and take steps to cool down tensions.

Iran fired more than 200 drones and missiles at Israel in the early hours of Sunday, the Israeli Army announced; an incident that could lead to an escalation of the long-running covert war between the two regional foes.

Iran's proxies and allies in the region also carried out coordinated attacks on Israeli positions as sirens sounded in many places and AFP correspondents said they heard blasts in the skies above Jerusalem early Sunday.

Washington had repeatedly warned Tel Aviv in recent days that retaliation by Tehran could be imminent.

"Iran launched UAVs from its territory towards the territory of the state of Israel," military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.

"We are working in close cooperation with the United States and our partners in the region in order to act against the launches and intercept them," Rear Admiral Hagari said.

Pakistan starts monitoring of its airspace

In the wake of the situation resulting from Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel, Pakistan has started strictly monitoring all the flights entering its airspace from the west.

Sources told 24News TV channel that in this regard, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had issued fresh instructions to the Pakistan Air Traffic Control.

They informed that the CAA had also ordered keeping an eye on any suspicious activity taking place in the country’s airspace.

Sources said that now all the flights would have to seek air traffic control’s approval before entering Pakistan’s airspace.

Reporters: Saeed Ahmad Saeed and Usman Khan