People inspect the damage after a drone hit a residential house in Sarah Gharghai area of Quetta. Photo: Reuters
ISLAMABAD:
President Asif Ali Zardari said on Saturday that Afghan Taliban elements had crossed a “red line” by carrying out crude drone attacks targeting Pakistani civilian areas, warning that the move had had serious consequences for the regime in Kabul.
Pakistan is likely to respond forcefully to what authorities say is a new provocation by the Afghan Taliban regime after security forces intercepted two crude drones launched by a Kabul-backed terror group near Islamabad, officials say.
According to officials, the drones were detected and neutralized through measures described by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) as both “soft and hard destruction” before they could reach their targets.
The ISPR said drone debris injured two children in Quetta and one civilian each in Kohat and Rawalpindi.
“These attacks were intended to instill fear in the public and remind us of the terrorist mindset that drives the Afghan Taliban. On the one hand, the Afghan Taliban project themselves as victims to attract global sympathy, while on the other, they actively target civilians through their terrorist proxies and drones,” the statement said.
Condemning the incidents, the president said the illegitimate Taliban regime had escalated tensions by targeting civilians despite Pakistan’s continued efforts to promote regional peace and stability.
He strongly condemned the crude drone attacks carried out the day before by Afghan Taliban elements aimed at targeting civilian areas in Pakistan.
The president said the illegitimate and terrorist Taliban regime had imposed serious consequences on itself by crossing this red line.
“The illegitimate regime in Afghanistan, installed through terror and brutal force, continues to renege on its commitments not to provide safe sanctuaries to terrorist groups and now has the audacity to provoke a major military power in the Islamic world,” the President’s Office said in a press release, quoting the president’s remarks.
As the Afghan terrorist regime sought to negotiate with Pakistan’s friendly countries, the president said it had crossed a red line by attempting to target their civilians, while Pakistan remained committed to efforts to promote peace and stability in the Gulf region and West Asia.
He also expressed best wishes for the speedy recovery of children and other civilians injured by drone debris in Quetta, Kohat and Rawalpindi.
The President reaffirmed that Pakistan’s armed forces and security institutions remain fully committed to the defense of the country and the protection of its people.
Authorities confirmed that no military installations or civilian infrastructure were affected during the incident.
The ISPR said the people of Pakistan and their armed forces were absolutely clear about the true nature and intentions of the hired terrorist militia currently ruling Afghanistan.
“Operation Ghazab Lil Haq will continue until the Afghan Taliban addresses Pakistan’s primary concerns regarding terrorism originating from Afghan soil. The Pakistani armed forces remain steadfast in the fight against terrorism and its manifestations, such as drone attacks by the Afghan Taliban. We will continue to defend the people of Pakistan against terrorists and their enablers and will not flinch in the face of such provocations by the Afghan Taliban,” the statement said.
Although the Afghan Taliban’s Defense Ministry claimed to have carried out the strikes, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in a statement pointed the finger at Fitnal Khwarij, a term used to refer to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
It said the drones were operated by the group called FAK, which Pakistani authorities say is supported and maintained by the Afghan Taliban regime.
Officials say the latest incident reinforces Islamabad’s long-standing concerns about terrorist groups using Afghan territory to target Pakistan.
The Information Ministry rejected claims spread by Taliban-linked accounts suggesting the drones had successfully struck Pakistani targets.
Officials said the Taliban regime’s claims were not supported by any verifiable evidence and were part of what they described as a pattern of propaganda and disinformation.
Government sources also pointed out that Taliban-affiliated accounts had previously made claims that were later retracted, including claims that planes belonging to the Pakistan Air Force had been shot down and pilots captured. These messages were later deleted without explanation.
The latest drone incident comes just a day after Pakistan carried out a series of precision strikes against what it described as terrorist infrastructure in Afghanistan. On the night of March 12-13, Pakistani forces targeted several sites suspected of being used by militant groups planning attacks against Pakistan.
Among the sites affected were infrastructure associated with the 313th Corps headquarters in Kabul, including a munitions storage facility. Additional strikes were carried out in Kandahar, where Pakistani officials said a terrorist training camp in Tarawo was destroyed along with other militant infrastructure, including oil storage facilities used to support militant operations.
Another strike targeted a terrorist camp in the Sher-e-Nau area of Paktia province, which authorities said had served as a base for cross-border attacks against Pakistan.
Security officials described the strikes as “precision operations” intended to dismantle terrorist infrastructure rather than targeting Afghan civilians or government institutions.
Following the drone interception, officials suggested that Pakistan could step up its response if attacks from Afghan territory continued. The message from Islamabad, officials say, remains consistent: Terrorist groups must not be allowed to operate from Afghan soil.
Officials say Pakistan has made clear that its main demand from the Afghan Taliban regime is to stop harboring and supporting militant leaders involved in attacks on Pakistan. Officials have warned that failure to combat these groups could have even more serious consequences.
“The truth always triumphs over lies,” one official said, reiterating that Pakistan would continue to act against threats to its security.
