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 rudimentary drone attacks targeting Pakistani civilian areas, warning that the move had brought serious consequences for the Kabul regime.
Pakistan is likely to respond strongly to what officials describe as a new provocation by the Afghan Taliban regime after security forces intercepted two rudimentary drones launched by a Kabul-backed terrorist group near Islamabad, according to officials.
According to officials, the drones were detected and neutralized through measures described by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) as “soft and hard kills” before they could reach their intended targets.
The ISPR said drone debris injured two children in Quetta and a civilian in Kohat and Rawalpindi.
“These attacks were aimed at inducing fear in the public and reminding us of the terrorist mentality that drives the Afghan Taliban. On the one hand, the Afghan Taliban project victimhood to gain global sympathy, while on the other, they actively attack civilians through their terrorist proxies and drones,” the statement said.
Condemning the incidents, the president said the illegitimate Taliban regime had escalated tensions by attacking civilians despite Pakistan’s continued efforts to promote regional peace and stability.
He strongly condemned the rudimentary drone attacks carried out a day earlier by Afghan Taliban elements targeting civilian areas in Pakistan.
The president said that the illegitimate and terrorist Taliban regime had brought serious consequences upon itself by crossing this red line.
“Afghanistan’s illegitimate regime installed by terror and brute force continues to fail in its commitments not to provide safe sanctuaries to terrorist groups and now has the audacity to provoke a major military power of the Islamic world,” the president was quoted as saying in a press release by the President Secretary Media Wing.
As the Afghan terrorist regime sought negotiations with Pakistan’s friendly countries, the president said it had crossed a red line by attempting to attack its civilians while Pakistan remained committed to efforts to promote peace and stability in the Gulf region and West Asia.
He also expressed his 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 remained fully committed to the defense of the country and the protection of its people.
Authorities confirmed that no military installation or civilian infrastructure was hit in the incident.
The ISPR said the people of Pakistan and its 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 concern regarding terrorism originating from Afghan soil. The Pakistan Armed Forces remain steadfast in the fight against terrorism and its manifestations such as drone strikes by the Afghan Taliban. We will continue to defend the people of Pakistan against terrorists and their enablers and will not back down from such provocations by the Afghan Taliban,” the statement says.
Although the Afghan Taliban Ministry of Defense claimed to have carried out the attacks, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in a statement pointed to Fitnal Khwarij, a term used to refer to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
He said the drones were operated by the group called FAK, which Pakistani authorities say has the backing and support of the Afghan Taliban regime.
Officials say the latest incident reinforces Islamabad’s long-standing concerns about terrorist groups using Afghan territory to attack Pakistan.
The Ministry of Information rejected claims spread by Taliban-linked accounts suggesting that drones had successfully attacked Pakistani targets.
Officials said the Taliban regime’s statements were not supported by any verifiable evidence and were part of what they described as a pattern of propaganda and disinformation.
Government sources also noted that Taliban-affiliated accounts had previously made claims that they later retracted, including claims that planes belonging to the Pakistan Air Force had been shot down and their pilots captured. Those posts 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 inside Afghanistan. On the night of March 12-13, Pakistani forces attacked multiple sites believed to be used by militant groups planning attacks against Pakistan.
Among the locations attacked was infrastructure associated with the 313 Corps headquarters in Kabul, including an ammunition storage facility. Additional strikes were carried out in Kandahar, where Pakistani officials said a terrorist training camp at Tarawo was destroyed along with other militant infrastructure including oil storage facilities used to support militant operations.
Another attack targeted a terrorist camp in the Sher-e-Nau area of Paktia province, which authorities said had been used as a staging ground for cross-border attacks against Pakistan.
Security officials described those strikes as “precision operations” designed to dismantle terrorist infrastructure rather than target Afghan civilians or government institutions.
Following the interception of the drones, officials suggested that Pakistan could intensify its response if attacks from Afghan territory continue. The message from Islamabad, officials say, remains consistent: Terrorist groups should not be allowed to operate from Afghan soil.
Officials say Pakistan has made clear that its main demand of the Afghan Taliban regime is that it stop harboring and supporting militant leaders involved in attacks against Pakistan. Officials warned that failing to stop those groups could have more consequences.
“Truth always triumphs over falsehood,” an official said, reiterating that Pakistan will continue to act against threats to its security.
