Pakistan carried out air and drone strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan early Thursday, September 24, saying the operation was in response to recent drone incursions from Afghan territory.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes were conducted in what he described as the country’s sovereign right to self-defence. He said the targeted sites were used to launch and store drones.
Eight Drones Shot Down
A day earlier, Pakistani security sources said the country’s air-defense systems had intercepted and destroyed eight drones that entered Pakistani airspace from Afghanistan.
According to the sources, four of the drones were shot down near the Torkham border crossing, while the other four were brought down in the Kohat area.
Pakistan said its air-defense systems detected, tracked and neutralized all eight drones before they could reach their intended targets.
Pakistan Calls Strikes ‘Calibrated and Proportionate’
In a post on X, Tarar described the strikes as “deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate.” He said they were restricted to identified military objectives that Pakistan considers directly linked to attempted attacks on its territory.
The minister also accused the Afghan Taliban authorities of allowing militant networks to operate from Afghan territory and warned that Pakistan would respond to further attacks.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government has previously rejected Pakistan’s allegations and has objected to Pakistani military strikes inside Afghanistan.
The latest exchange comes amid renewed tensions between the two neighbors. Pakistan carried out earlier airstrikes along the Afghan border on September 21, claiming that 28 militants were killed, while the United Nations and Afghan authorities reported that three civilians were killed.
