Pakistan Says Eight Afghan Taliban Drones Shot Down Near Torkham, Kohat
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: Pakistan’s armed forces shot down eight drones attributed by Pakistani security sources to the Afghan Taliban after they entered Pakistani airspace on Wednesday morning, according to local media reports, marking another escalation in tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier.
Security sources said Pakistan’s air-defence network detected the eight drones after they crossed into Pakistani airspace and intercepted all of them before they could reach their alleged targets.
According to Dawn, four drones were brought down in areas near the Torkham border, while another four were intercepted near Kohat in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Express Urdu, also citing security sources, reported that the drones were intended to target public areas. It said Pakistan’s armed forces and Pakistan Air Force thwarted the alleged attempt. That account of the drones’ intended targets is a Pakistani security-source claim and had not been independently established at the time of reporting.
No casualties or damage from Wednesday’s reported drone incursions were immediately announced in the available reports.
The latest incident occurred alongside heightened activity elsewhere on the border. Pakistani security sources said forces had earlier thwarted an attempted infiltration in the Kurram sector, after which Afghan Taliban forces allegedly opened fire on Pakistani border posts with heavy weapons and mortars.
Pakistani forces responded with artillery and other weapons against several Afghan border positions, according to the same security-source accounts. The Afghan Taliban’s independent account of Wednesday’s incidents was not available in the sources reviewed for this report.
The developments come only days after another sharp escalation between Islamabad and Kabul.
On September 21, Pakistan said it carried out air strikes against militant targets in Afghanistan’s Paktika and Kunar provinces, claiming that at least 28 militants were killed. Afghan Taliban authorities condemned those strikes and said civilians had been killed.
The United Nations confirmed that at least three civilians — a man, a woman and a girl — were killed in the Pakistani strikes, highlighting the conflicting accounts surrounding the cross-border military operations.
Pakistan says armed groups operating from Afghan territory have been responsible for attacks inside Pakistan and has repeatedly demanded that Kabul prevent its territory from being used for cross-border militancy. The Afghan Taliban administration has disputed Pakistan’s allegations and has accused Islamabad of violating Afghan sovereignty through cross-border strikes.
Earlier on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also raised Pakistan’s concerns at an OIC meeting in New York, calling on the Afghan authorities to take “concrete and verifiable” measures to prevent Afghan territory from being used for attacks against neighbouring countries.
Wednesday’s reported drone interceptions therefore add another layer to an already volatile security situation along the frontier.
The incident remains developing, and further confirmation is needed regarding the drones’ origin, technical specifications, intended targets and whether the Afghan authorities will issue a response.
