KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Pakistan’s military said on Wednesday it shot down four “rudimentary drones” launched from Afghanistan into the southwestern province of Balochistan, hours after the Taliban said it had carried out “airstrikes” inside Pakistani territory.
In a statement, the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said the drones entered Pakistani airspace late on Tuesday and were intercepted and destroyed before reaching their intended targets.
“The hostile aerial platforms were immediately picked up by Pakistan’s robust air defence network,” the army said, adding that the country’s security forces “successfully neutralized” all four drones using countermeasures.
ISPR accused the Taliban of using such actions to divert attention from internal issues in Afghanistan and warned against further military provocations.
“The Afghan Taliban should realize that their irresponsible behavior is only adding to the hardships of the Afghan people,” the statement said, adding that the group should abandon what Pakistan described as support for militancy and follow the principle of peaceful coexistence.
Pakistan’s military warned that any further escalation or cross-border attacks would be met with a “swift, decisive and overwhelming response.”
The incident came hours after the Taliban’s Ministry of Defense said it had carried out what it described as “airstrikes” on targets inside Pakistan’s Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In a statement issued late on Tuesday, the ministry said its forces targeted what it described as joint Islamic State and “elements of evil and corruption” centres in the Saranan area of Pishin district in Balochistan, as well as sites in Qambarkhel and Garm Chashma in Chitral.
The Taliban claimed the sites were being used to coordinate attacks inside Afghanistan and to plan bombings that targeted Afghan civilians. It said the operation caused “heavy casualties and financial losses” to Islamic State militants and their supporters.
The Pakistani army confirmed only the drone incident in Balochistan and did not comment on the Taliban’s claim of strikes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The latest exchange follows Pakistani airstrikes conducted on Sunday night in Afghanistan’s eastern provinces of Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar. Islamabad said those operations targeted hideouts belonging to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the allied Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group, resulting in the deaths of 25 militants.
The Taliban strongly condemned the Pakistani strikes, describing them as a blatant violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty. It claimed the attacks hit residential areas, killing 36 civilians and wounding more than 160 others.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it had verified at least 28 civilian deaths, including women and children, along with 49 injuries.
Following Pakistan’s strikes, António Guterres, the European Union, UNICEF, U.N. Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett, and the UK’s special envoy for Afghanistan called for restraint, dialogue, and stronger protection of civilians.
Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban have deteriorated markedly in recent months over security concerns. Islamabad accuses Kabul of allowing TTP militants to use Afghan territory as a base for operations against Pakistan, a charge the Taliban deny.
