Few ‘rudimentary drones’ launched by Afghan Taliban intercepted: ISPR

Afghan Taliban launched few rudimentary drones targeting Pakistani territory which were successfully intercepted using both “soft and hard kill” measures, preventing them from reaching their intended targets, the military’s media wing said on Saturday.

However, falling debris from the intercepted drones resulted in injuries to four civilians, including two children in Quetta and one civilian each in Kohat and Rawalpindi.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said this in a statement today regarding a cross-border provocation on Friday.

“These attacks were aimed at inducing fear in the public and remind us of the terrorist mindset which drives the Afghan Taliban. On one hand, the Afghan Taliban project victimhood to garner global sympathy while on the other hand, they actively target civilians through their terrorist proxies and their drones.

“Pakistan’s people and its Armed Forces are absolutely clear about the true nature and intentions of the terrorist militia-for-hire that rules Afghanistan,” the ISPR said.

The armed forces reaffirmed that Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq will proceed without interruption until the Afghan Taliban address Pakistan’s primary concerns regarding terrorism emanating from Afghan soil.

The statement concluded with a firm resolve: “Pakistan’s Armed Forces stand steadfast in the fight against terrorism and its various manifestations, like the drone attacks by Afghan Taliban. We shall continue to defend the people of Pakistan against terrorists and their facilitators and will not flinch in the face of such provocations.”

Two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were also shot down on Friday by air defence after they were detected loitering near Faizabad, Business Recorder reported citing sources.

Sources said that one of the drones fell near Faizabad and the other in sector I-9 of the federal capital. They said that the drones were explosive-laden.

Sources said that the drones had possibly been launched from neighbouring Afghanistan.

However, Pakistan rejected the claims circulated by Afghan Taliban-linked accounts alleging a successful drone strike on Pakistani military installations, calling the reports false propaganda and stating that the drones were successfully intercepted by Pakistani security forces.

According to a fact-check released by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, two rudimentary drones allegedly launched by Fitna Al Khawarij (FAK) militants supported by the Afghan Taliban regime were intercepted using electronic counter-measures.

Officials said no military or other infrastructure was hit, adding that only minor damage occurred due to debris after the drones were forced to crash.

The ministry said the claim circulating on social media from accounts linked to the Afghan Taliban’s so-called Ministry of Defence contained no verifiable evidence.