Pakistan downs Taliban drones near Islamabad; debris injures four including two children

At least four people, including two children, were injured after debris from Afghan Taliban drones fell in several Pakistani cities, the country’s military said on Saturday. The drones were intercepted and destroyed before reaching their intended targets, but falling fragments caused injuries in different locations.According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military, the drones were brought down on Friday in Quetta, Kohat and Rawalpindi, which lies close to the capital Islamabad. The military said the devices were neutralised using a combination of “soft and hard kills”, meaning electronic countermeasures as well as physical interception.While the drones failed to hit their targets, debris from the destroyed devices injured two children in Quetta.

One civilian each was also injured in Kohat and Rawalpindi. Authorities said the attacks appeared aimed at creating panic among the public.“These attacks were aimed at inducing fear in the public and remind us of the terrorist mindset which drives the Afghan Taliban,” the ISPR said in a statement.The military also accused the Taliban leadership in Kabul of attempting to portray itself as a victim internationally while supporting attacks against civilians.

“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,” the statement said.Pakistan’s military further warned that the country remained fully aware of what it described as the “true nature and intentions” of the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan. It reiterated that the armed forces would continue operations against militant threats originating from Afghan territory.The statement said Operation Ghazab lil-Haq — launched on February 26 — would continue until Islamabad’s concerns about terrorism emanating from Afghan soil were addressed. The military added that it would keep defending Pakistan’s population against “terrorists and their facilitators” and would not back down from such provocations.The drone interceptions briefly created concern near Islamabad. Pakistan Airports Authority initially said that flight operations at Islamabad International Airport had undergone a “brief operational adjustment”.

However, the post was later deleted and replaced with another statement clarifying that the airport had not been shut.“Flight operations at Islamabad International Airport are continuing without interruption, and all flights are operating according to schedule,” the authority said, urging the public to rely only on official information.The latest incident comes amid rapidly deteriorating relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban government. Tensions have escalated in recent weeks following cross-border attacks and retaliatory strikes, further straining ties that have sharply declined since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.