Kumar Bahukhandi
Paramilitary soldiers and police officers stand guard on a road cordoned off near the site of a militant attack at the provincial headquarters of the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers in Karachi. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
The Taliban government had vowed a response to deadly Pakistani airstrikes on eastern Afghanistan this week
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military said on Wednesday it had intercepted four drones sent from Afghanistan the previous day, the latest incident in months of conflict between the two neighbours.
The Taliban government had vowed a response to deadly Pakistani airstrikes on eastern Afghanistan this week and the Afghan defence ministry said in a statement overnight it had carried out aerial operations targeting militants in Pakistani border provinces.
Pakistan’s military said Afghan Taliban forces on Tuesday had “launched four rudimentary drones across the border in Balochistan… the hostile aerial platforms were immediately picked up by Pakistan’s robust air defence network”.
“If the Afghan Taliban continue to provoke Pakistan, they would receive a befitting response which would cost them heavily,” it added.
The Afghan defence ministry posted on X that it had carried out “airstrikes” in Balochistan and northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, that it said caused casualties among Islamic State (IS) group members.
The Taliban military forces lack a fully functional air force but have used small drones, targeting areas primarily in the border regions of Pakistan, experts say.
Pakistan, which denies its territory is used by IS, did not mention any casualties and accused the Afghan government of “misleading” its people, saying the drone attacks were “effectively thwarted”.
The regional IS branch, Islamic State-Khorasan, has claimed responsibility for attacks in Afghanistan in recent years that have killed civilians.
The incident is the latest flare-up of conflict between the neighbours whose relationship has been fraught since 2021, when the Taliban government took power in Kabul, and follow a war that erupted in February.
After a deadly weekend attack in Karachi, Pakistani airstrikes killed dozens of people in eastern Afghanistan, with Islamabad saying on Monday it targeted militants but the Afghan government reporting civilian casualties.
The United Nations confirmed the strikes killed 28 civilians and wounded dozens more. Pakistan has not commented on civilian casualties and said 29 militants were killed in the strikes and ground operations.
The months of conflict that has killed hundreds has centred around Islamabad’s accusations that the Taliban government shelters militants behind a surge in attacks, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which has waged a violent campaign against Pakistan for years.
Afghan officials deny those assertions and counter that Pakistan harbours hostile groups and does not respect its sovereignty.
( Source : AFP )
