Pakistan says it shot down eight drones from Afghanistan amid border firing
Pakistan's security forces shot down eight drones on Wednesday that they said had entered the country from Afghanistan, as fresh firing along the border added to tensions between the two neighbours. Security sources said the drones were intercepted in northwest Pakistan, but the claims could not be independently verified.
The latest flare-up comes two days after Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan that Islamabad said targeted camps and hideouts of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. Afghanistan has rejected Pakistan's account of the latest border fighting and denied that its forces attacked Pakistani positions.
Security sources said four drones were brought down near the Torkham border and another four in mountainous areas near Kohat in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Some of the drones were described as rudimentary models, and those detected near Kohat were neutralised through a "soft-kill" operation. Pakistani authorities alleged that the drones were meant to target public areas and said the incident was further evidence of what they called the Afghan Taliban's support for militants operating against Pakistan.
The drone incident came amid fresh exchanges of fire along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border after Pakistani officials said security forces had foiled an infiltration attempt by militants from areas near Afghan border posts in Paktia and Nangarhar provinces. According to Pakistani officials, Afghan Taliban forces then fired mortars and other heavy weapons at Pakistani border posts, prompting Pakistani troops to respond with artillery fire targeting Taliban posts, mortar sites and defensive positions.
Afghanistan denied Pakistan's claim, with the Taliban government rejecting allegations that Afghan Taliban forces had attacked Pakistani positions. The current escalation follows Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan on Monday, which Islamabad said killed 28 militants, including several suicide bombers. Afghan authorities disputed that account, saying at least three civilians were killed and four others were wounded in villages in Afghan territory. The UN mission in Afghanistan confirmed the civilian casualties, and Kabul formally protested the strikes.
The TTP is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban government in Kabul of sheltering TTP leaders and allowing militants to use Afghan territory to carry out attacks inside Pakistan, while Kabul has consistently denied the allegations.
On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar voiced concern over what he said was the presence of more than two dozen anti-Pakistani militant groups in Afghanistan. The renewed fighting also threatens efforts by China, Turkiye, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to mediate between Islamabad and Kabul and end the recurring border hostilities. Overall, the drone interceptions, cross-border firing and competing claims over militant activity have added to the broader strain in ties between the two countries.
