QUETTA, PESHAWAR: Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense claimed responsibility for a series of cross-border air strikes targeting alleged ISIS hideouts in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as Pakistan’s military said it successfully shot down four drones that crossed into its territory, in a significant escalation of tensions between the two neighboring countries.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense Deputy Spokesperson Siddiqullah Nasrat claimed that the Afghan Air Force targeted ISIS centers in multiple locations inside Pakistan, including the Saranan area of Pishin district in Balochistan, the Qambar Khel area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the Garam Chashma area of Shah Saleem Valley in Chitral.
Nasrat alleged that these centers were being used to plan sabotage activities and attacks inside Afghanistan. The ministry further claimed that the strikes caused heavy casualties among ISIS fighters, their supporters, and other armed elements, adding that the operations were carried out with precision and resulted in no civilian casualties.
However, reports from Pishin district contradicted Afghanistan’s claim of no civilian casualties. According to local sources, at least two people were wounded as a result of drones falling in the Saranan area.
An eyewitness reported seeing drones coming from the direction of Afghanistan in the Saranan area of Pishin, claiming that one or two of the drones were shot down by gunfire, and that their wreckage caused injuries to at least two people.
Local sources say a drone struck a school in the Saranan area where former Afghan government security personnel were residing. Sources also claimed that a significant number of former Afghan government security force members are currently living in Quetta and its surrounding areas and that these individuals allegedly enjoy support from the Pakistani government. Some analysts suggested that Pakistan may be strengthening these former security officials with the intention of potentially using them against Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government.
Meanwhile, sounds of military aircraft were also heard flying over Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, during the night.
In a separate incident in the Hassan Khel area on the outskirts of Peshawar, five members of a single family, including two children, were wounded as a result of an alleged drone being shot down or crashing in the area.
Peshawar Police confirmed that drone wreckage fell within the jurisdiction of the Hassan Khel police station, and that further information was being gathered. Peshawar Capital City Police Officer Dr. Mian Saeed confirmed the incident but did not provide further details.
Following the incidents, Pakistan’s military public relations wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), claimed in a statement issued on Wednesday that on June 30, the Afghan government sent four primitive drones across the border into Balochistan, all of which were detected in time and neutralized by Pakistan’s air defense system.
The ISPR further claimed that these drones were part of a pattern of support and sponsorship being extended by the Afghan Taliban from areas under their control to armed groups operating inside Pakistan.
Pakistan’s air defense system, according to ISPR, immediately detected all four drones, after which security forces destroyed them using advanced defensive measures.
The cross-border strikes mark a significant escalation in tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with both sides trading conflicting claims over the nature and targets of the operations. Pakistan has consistently accused Afghanistan’s ruling authorities of providing sanctuary to armed groups carrying out attacks inside Pakistan, while Afghanistan has repeatedly denied such allegations and accused Pakistan of harboring elements hostile to its government.
