March 15, 2026 | 07:16 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Pakistan said on Saturday that it shot down a number of drones fired by the Taliban in Afghanistan amid an ongoing war between the neighboring countries.
Some of the drones targeted Pakistan's military headquarters in Rawalpindi, near the capital, Islamabad.
Debris from the downed drones injured two children in the southwestern city of Quetta, plus a civilian each in Kohat, south of Peshawar, and Rawalpindi.
What did Pakistan say about the Taliban drone attacks?
"Afghan Taliban launched few rudimentary drones to harass the brave people of Pakistan," the military said. "The drones... did not reach their intended targets."
"These attacks were aimed at inducing fear in the public and remind us of the terrorist mindset which drives the Afghan Taliban," Pakistan's military added.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said he "strongly condemned the drone attacks on Pakistani civilian areas, saying the Afghan Taliban crossed a red line" in a post on X.
"Pakistan will not tolerate its civilians being targeted. Afghan soil must not be used for terrorism against neighbours. Pakistan will defend its people," he added.
Pakistani strikes kill 4 in Afghanistan
The Taliban had vowed to respond after Pakistan launched strikes on the Afghan capital Kabul overnight on Thursday and Friday. It said Pakistan's attacks "would not go unanswered."
The Pakistani strikes killed at least four civilians in Kabul and injured 14 others, including women and children, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
They also hit a fuel depot in Kandahar Province used by Afghan civilian airline Kam Air as well as by UN flights, the Taliban said.
Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar claimed the strikes targeted militant camps and "terrorist support infrastructure." Pakistan's military said on Saturday that the fuel depot was used by the Taliban "for sponsoring terrorism."
Why are Pakistan and Afghanistan at war?
Pakistan said it was engaged in "open war" against the Taliban in Afghanistan in February, having long accused the group of harboring militants from the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The Taliban government has denied that Afghanistan is being used as a base for cross-border militancy.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has insisted that it does not target civilians.
At least 75 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan and more than 190 injured since the start of the conflict, according to the UNAMA.
Read: Pakistan Bombs Kabul and Afghan Border Provinces
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