Pakistan's military said Wednesday it shot down four drones launched from Afghanistan after they crossed into the southwestern province of Balochistan.
The military's media wing, ISPR, blamed the Afghan Taliban and warned of a "befitting response" to any future cross-border provocations.
How did Pakistan shoot down the drones from Afghanistan?
ISPR said the four rudimentary drones entered Pakistani airspace on Tuesday and were detected immediately by the country's air defense network. Security forces used what the military called sophisticated countermeasures to neutralize all four drones. No damage or casualties were reported.
Why does Pakistan blame the Afghan Taliban for the drones?
The military alleged the drones were launched as part of the Afghan Taliban's continued support for militant groups operating from areas under their control. ISPR also accused the Taliban of trying to divert attention from domestic problems inside Afghanistan. It urged Afghan authorities to abandon support for militancy and pursue peaceful coexistence instead.
What warning did Pakistan issue after the drone incident?
Pakistan's military said any future attempts to provoke the country would receive a "befitting response" with heavy consequences. It added that the armed forces remain fully prepared to defend Pakistan's territory. Any cross-border aggression, it said, would continue to be met with swift, decisive and overwhelming action under Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq.
What border strikes preceded the drone incident?
The drone incident came two days after Pakistan said its forces killed 29 suspected militants in intelligence-based operations along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Federal Information Minister Atta Tarar said Monday the operations combined ground assaults with precision airstrikes on militant camps across the border. He said the campaign targeted groups blamed for attacks on civilians and security personnel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Karachi.
Pakistani authorities said four militants, including a commander identified as Khan Farosh, were killed in a ground operation in Bajaur district on Saturday. The remaining 25 were killed in strikes under Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq targeting alleged militant camps in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces overnight on June 28 and 29. Tarar said Pakistan launched the operations in response to recent militant attacks inside the country.
How has the Afghan Taliban responded to Pakistan's claims?
Afghanistan's Taliban government rejected Pakistan's account of the border strikes, saying civilians rather than militants were killed. Taliban deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said on X that the strikes in three eastern Afghan provinces killed 36 civilians, including women and children, and wounded 163 others. The two sides have offered conflicting accounts of both the strikes and the drone incident.
Comments
See what people are discussing