Three injured in Khariji drone attack on Bajaur cricket ground in KP

At least three people were injured in a drone terror attack on a cricket ground in Mamund area of ​​Bajaur district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa state on Friday, according to state media.

According to the public channel PTV NewsThe attack was carried out using a quadcopter in Shahi Tangi area of ​​Mamund tehsil while a cricket match was in progress. The injured were immediately taken to hospital for treatment.

Read: Five injured in Afghan cross-border bombing

According to a press release issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Bajaur, in the last two months, mortar shells were fired from the Afghan side at various border areas of the district, especially Mamund and Slarzai.

He adds that the shooting by the Afghan Taliban on the civilian population of Bajaur resulted in the martyrdom of nine people, including three women and six children.

Local sources said quadcopters were being used to target civilians to sow fear and panic, adding that video evidence of such incidents had already surfaced. They said the attack was deliberately timed during the cricket match.

“Such attacks reflect an inability to directly confront security forces, with civilians instead being targeted,” the public channel said, while adding that public anger was growing due to repeated incidents against civilian populations.

Following this incident, security in the area was placed on high alert. Security forces cordoned off the site and launched a search operation to find those involved.

“Security forces are leading an effective response against such attacks, targeting militant positions and supporting infrastructure. » PTV News reported.

Tribal elders and residents strongly condemned the attack and demanded complete elimination of the terrorists to ensure public safety.

Read also: Pakistani army responds to unprovoked aggression by Afghan Taliban: security sources

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar condemned today’s incident.

“The spate of inhumane violence of deliberate targeting of innocent civilians by the Afghan Taliban regime in the border districts of KP is unacceptable, insidious and reflects their barbaric nature towards human life. The resort to civilian targets after being soundly beaten on the ground by Pakistan’s proud security forces and lacking the courage to face it is not only despicable but speaks volumes about the weak moral character of the regime’s leaders.

He said that “so-called representatives of the Taliban regime continue to make false and frivolous allegations that Pakistan is deliberately targeting civilians.”

Tarar said it has been “reported with much clarity and evidence that Pakistan only targets terrorist infrastructure and information has always been shared promptly and transparently with the public, whenever Pakistan targets terrorist hideouts and supporting infrastructure in areas controlled by the Afghan Taliban regime, while taking great care of any kind of civilian harm.”

Earlier this week, security forces carried out retaliatory strikes on key sites, including the Ariana complex, Dabgai checkpoint, police headquarters and Zakarkhel post, which were destroyed.

The Pakistan Air Force also targeted positions in Laghman province, destroying an arms depot, the ABF battalion headquarters and the Nangarhar brigade. Sources further said that a Taliban post near Mohmand sector was also destroyed, stressing that only Afghan military targets were hit, in accordance with international law.

On April 15, three civilians, including two children, were killed and three others were injured when Afghan Taliban forces carried out unprovoked shelling on residents in a border area in KP’s Bajaur district, according to state media.

The incident marked a new episode of cross-border aggression after a hiatus of more than a month, following Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, launched in response to unprovoked hostility from the Afghan side.

Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched towards the end of February following renewed clashes along the Pak-Afghan border, after Afghan Taliban forces fired on several locations, provoking swift military retaliation from Pakistan.

Read: 13 terrorists neutralized in two infiltration attempts at Pak-Afghan border in KP: ISPR

Since then, neighboring countries have engaged in an escalation of hostilities along the border. The clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to Pakistani airstrikes targeting terrorist positions and eased during a temporary ceasefire to mark Eidul Fitr.

The escalation of tensions between the two countries follows a series of retaliatory actions over the past year.

Pakistan had earlier carried out airstrikes against the camps of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Islamic State’s Khorasan province in Afghanistan after a wave of attacks, including a suicide bombing in Islamabad.

Islamabad has long maintained that TTP leaders operate from Afghan territory, an allegation that Kabul has repeatedly denied.

Tensions also increased after a series of explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year. Taliban forces then targeted areas along the Pakistani border, prompting Islamabad to respond with cross-border bombings.

The exchanges caused casualties and damage to infrastructure on both sides and led to the suspension of trade after the border crossings closed on October 12, 2025.