Islamabad, March 14 At least four people, including two children, were injured after they were hit by debris from the Afghan Taliban drones that were destroyed before reaching their targets, the Army said on Saturday.
The drones were intercepted and destroyed by the army on Friday in Quetta, Kohat, and Rawalpindi, adjacent to the capital Islamabad.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, these attacks were aimed at inducing fear in the public and "remind us of the terrorist mindset which drives the Afghan Taliban."
"The drones were intercepted through both direct and indirect methods, and therefore, did not reach their intended targets," the military's media wing said.
However, the debris from these drones resulted in injuries to two children in Quetta and a civilian each in Kohat and Rawalpindi, it added.
"On one hand, the Afghan Taliban project victimhood to garner global sympathy, while on the other hand, they actively target civilians through their terrorist proxies and their drones," it said in a statement.
"The people of Pakistan and its Armed Forces are absolutely clear about the true nature and intentions of the terrorist militia-for-hire that rules Afghanistan," it said.
Pakistan launched military action, codenamed Operation Ghazab lil-Haq (righteous fury), on February 26 after the Afghan side attacked 53 locations on the 2,611 kms long border.
The latest drone attacks come days after Afghan Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob threatened that his country could target Islamabad.
On Saturday, the Army also reiterated that Operation Ghazab lil-Haq will continue until the Afghan Taliban address Pakistan’s core concerns regarding terrorism emanating from Afghan soil.
"The Armed Forces stand steadfast in the fight against terrorism and its manifestations, like the drone attacks by the Afghan Taliban."
A local media report on Friday said Pakistani security authorities intercepted and destroyed two explosive-laden drones in the capital Islamabad. However, Saturday's ISPR statement stated one of the locations to be Rawalpindi.
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari, strongly condemning drone attacks, said the Afghan Taliban crossed the "red line" by aiming to target civilian areas in Pakistan.
In a statement, Zardari emphasised that the "illegitimate regime of Afghanistan installed by terror and brute force continues to renege on 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.”
Zardari said the Afghan terrorist regime "has crossed a red line by attempting to target our civilians" while Pakistan was engaged in efforts to promote peace and stability in the Gulf region.
Relations with the Taliban regime plummeted lower than anyone could have imagined in 2021 when they came to power in Kabul, allegedly with the support of Pakistan.