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

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

According to the state broadcaster PTV NewsThe attack was carried out with a quadcopter in the Shahi Tangi area of ​​Mamund Tehsil while a cricket match was going on. The injured were immediately taken to a hospital for treatment.

Read: Five injured in cross-border bombings in Afghanistan

He said a press release issued by the deputy commissioner of Bajaur said that during the last two months, mortar shells had been fired from the Afghan side at several border areas of the district, particularly Mamund and Slarzai.

He added that the Afghan Taliban’s firing on civilians in Bajaur had led to the martyrdom of nine people, including three women and six children.

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

“These attacks reflect an inability to directly confront security forces, and the target is civilians,” the state broadcaster said, adding that public anger was growing due to repeated incidents against civilians.

Following the incident, security in the area was put on high alert. Security forces cordoned off the place and launched a search operation to locate those involved.

“Security forces are carrying out 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: Pakistan army responds to unprovoked aggression by Afghan Taliban: security sources

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar condemned today’s incident.

“The inhumane spate of deliberate violence against innocent civilians by the Afghan Taliban regime in the border districts of KP is unacceptable, insidious and reflects their barbaric nature towards human life. Resorting to attacking civilian areas after having been beaten extensively on the ground by Pakistan’s proud security forces and not having the courage to confront them is not only despicable but also speaks volumes about the low moral character of the regime’s leaders.”

He said “so-called representatives” of the Taliban regime continue to make false and frivolous allegations of deliberate attacks on civilians by Pakistan.

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

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

The Pakistan Air Force also attacked positions in Laghman province, destroying a weapons depot, the ABF battalion headquarters and the Nangarhar brigade. The sources further said that a Taliban outpost near the Mohmand sector was also destroyed, emphasizing that only Afghan military targets were attacked in accordance with international law.

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

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

Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched in late February following fresh clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, after Afghan Taliban forces fired at multiple locations, prompting swift military retaliation by Pakistan.

Read: 13 terrorists neutralized in two infiltration attempts on Pakistan-Afghanistan border: ISPR

Since then, neighboring countries have intensified hostilities along the border. Clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to Pakistani airstrikes on terrorist positions and subsided during a temporary ceasefire on the occasion of Eidul Fitr.

The escalation of tensions between the two countries followed a series of tit-for-tat actions over the past year.

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

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

Tensions also rose after a series of explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year. Taliban forces subsequently attacked areas along the border with Pakistan, 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 closure of border crossings on October 12, 2025.